Causality Chain
by Seven Malfoy
Summary: Every choice we make changes our reality. James and Lily made choices before they died, how will those choices change Harry's reality and future? A/U. Story going through continuity edits. Potential for a brief Hiatus (11-16-13)
1. Prologue: Choices in the Past

Authors Note:

What if... the universe is filled with choices, and those choices change our destiny. Theories say that for every choice we make a new universe is created. In Canon, there is little mention of the Black family outside of the youngest generations. Quite a number of the older ones were still alive when Harry was born. So I take it one step further. We know that James' mother was related to the Blacks. What if James' mom had been heavily involved with her Black side of the family? What if, in turn, the eldest patriarch of the Black family was more concerned with preserving the family legacy? Here's what I think might have occurred.

* * *

May 1978

James Potter sat in the long term care room at St. Mungos, watching his mother waste away slowly, but not painfully. The healers had done all they knew to do, but nobody, neither magical nor muggle, could quite figure out her illness. All they could do was prolong the inevitable and prevent her from being in too much pain.

His mother had been a proud and strong woman, well bred and well connected. He remembered all the miserable dinner parties, where he had been stuffed into dress robes and paraded around the estate with the other children. Those parties had ended, but his mother had still maintained contacts with almost all of her old Hogwarts friends. It still marveled James how many of the older women came to visit his mother on a regular basis. James would be worried, scared even, if it were not for two distinct facts: his mother was a pureblood, and thus no harm would come to her particularly. Also the Potter money was useful for something, and James made sure that his mother had a private suite and the ability to have a clean change of robes when the society ladies came to call. Extra wards and charms around her bed didn't hurt either.

James might not have wanted a single whit to do with any of them, finding them stuffy and bigoted, but his mother loved her old Hogwarts friends. They brought joy to her face as she whispered and gossiped about the ones that were still alive. Her body might be all but gone, but her mind was as good as ever.

James looked at his mother, who was dozing after another pain treatment. It had been a bittersweet time after graduating from Hogwarts. He graduated in May, with all his friends, and took the qualifying tests to start Auror training. After he passed the test he got married to his sweetheart, Lily. Two months after getting married, his father died. Then Lily's parents were in an accident, and now his mother was on death's door. He sighed and slumped into the chair slightly.

"Figures we'd find you here." A cold aristocratic voice rang in his ear. Lily was at the Order headquarters, trying to keep up with the latest information, and left James to his mother's bedside. The voice belonged to one of his mother's cousins.

James stood up and turned around. "Madames Black. How kind of you to stop by."

"Please, Helena was our best girl at Hogwarts, even if she was a Ravenclaw. " The elder of the pair sniffed.

"And she was a Black, by extension." The other nodded solemly.

James knew the whole story. His mother had been born Helena Celeste Burke, first cousins with the two witches who stood in front of him. Irma Crabbe Black and Cassiopeia Black.*

"Yes. You ladies see fit to remind me of this constantly."

Cassiopeia shrugged. The 68-year-old witch sat down in a conjured chair and called for her house elf.

"Mimmet!" The elf popped into existence, and bowed to her mistress.

"Tea for three." Cassiopeia commanded, and conjured a chair for her sister-in-law.

Irma sighed and sat down. "Rest my weary bones… So how have you been, James?"

James sighed. "I've been fair, as fair as one can be with a mother on her deathbed and a father not yet fully cool in the family plot."

Irma sighed sadly. "Too many of the old guard are dying off. These young ones have no respect for our traditions and values." Irma glared pointedly at James, who sighed again.

"Well, if you ladies will excuse me, I must be getting back to my wife."

Cassiopeia shook her head. "We need to talk to you, James Potter. We came to see dearest Lena, but we also have a mission."

James shook his head again. "No way. You know where I stand on this matter."

Irma laughed and put up several layers of silencing wards that would have made Moody proud. "Please, James. We are not young, we have no use for this 'Dark Lord' foolishness. It's bad enough my nephews are caught up in it."

James sighed. "And your children, and your grandchildren to boot."

Irma heaved a heavy sigh. "Fruit of my womb, betraying all that is sacred. I'm afraid for this generation. They follow too blindly the words of a mystery man. I swore to Cyg and Dru that marrying those two girls off to the likes of Malfoy and Lestrange just to spite the one who married a mu… muggleborn was foolhardy. Now look. Bellatrix is half crazy and Cissa can't even walk the streets like a proper Black. There were a half a dozen proper purebloods willing to marry Cissa alone. Nice sensible chaps like that Greengrass boy and that Davis boy."

Cassiopeia waived her hand over the tea tray, which had appeared while Irma was ranting. "Have a spot of tea. I promise none of it's tainted. No… this is family business boy, nothing to do with anything except your current predicament. "

James was startled. "My… current… predicament?"

Cassiopeia nodded. "Arcturus may be getting along in years, but he's being a proper Head of the House Black. He is mostly concerned that the younger ones don't seem too keen on continuing the family lineage proper. Between the generations of so many girls being born, and the boys who are born showing no sign of settling down, he's starting to reach further in the tree for… stability."

James sighed. He had met Arcturus on several occasions, mostly when he was young and his mother still went to official family functions. "Go on…"

"Arcturus wants Sirius re-instated. He fully understands why the boy ran away. I swear my daughter doesn't have the sense of a doxy, but the younger ones follow her piping. I worry for both Orion and some of the others. The weariness of it all..." Irma sniffed into her tea.

James was struck dumb. He thought that Sirius was being the odd man out, not that it was hard to see why, with half the Blacks his age likely getting the Dark Mark before the ink was dry on their Hogwarts diplomas. The ones who hadn't had either been disowned or married a Death Eater, if the reports were any truth.

"What does this have to do with me?"

Cassiopeia smiled. "Arcturus wants to meet with you at the Black family home in Scotland. Lucy and Ignatius will be there, as will Alphard and a few choice others."

James stiffened. Ignatius was Molly's uncle, and decidedly light. Alphard had given Sirius money to 'keep him going'. He still didn't trust it.

Irma nodded. "Don't you worry, and bring that pretty little wife of yours. Arcturus has his house warded so heavily that Merlin himself couldn't find it if he wanted to. Paranoid old man."

Cassiopeia laughed. "It's the Black family way. Walla's the same way, except she's just plain crazy."

Irma laughed. "That she is. Can't believe she's my own daughter." Irma sobered quickly. "I honestly don't know what's going to become of our family, James. Too many of us lapsed on having children… if we had known that 'this'" Irma waved her hands out to indicate Britain in general, " was going to happen, I'm sure that Cassi would have married that Swiss fellow who came calling the one time."

Cassi shook her head. She had her own secrets, and they would come out soon enough. "Just make sure the two of ye are there."

James nodded. He brokered no promise though. If it was truly family business, he only had to bring Lily. Dumbledore was busy enough, and no suspected Death Eaters would be there, if the ladies in front of him told the truth.

* * *

Three weeks later, his mother was still alive, thankfully, and James found himself sitting in the Scottish countryside in a house Sirius never mentioned his family owning. Sirius himself was at Remus' house, with it being close to the full moon and all. Lily sat beside him, in a pair of semi formal robes custom made for her. Even though she was not the biggest fan of green, these robes were a dark emerald green, embroidered with gold details. James similarly wore a dark, almost navy blue robe with silver embroidery, fine threadwork and other details he often overlooked for less expensive, more practical styles. His attention to detail was rewarded, since Lucretia and Ignatius had both arrived in similar robes, probably coming from the same robe shop. A girl, about 16, was sitting with in Slytherin colors: a green and black summer robe embroidered with tiny sliver snakes. She was rather striking, with dark hair, almost black, and stunning blue eyes. She was quietly reading a book, although every now and again she would look up and view those around her.

Cassiopeia was also there, sitting in a corner, sipping on a cup of tea James was sure was spiked with something. Next to Cassiopiea was a woman, who was likely in her forties, who all but screamed Black Family. She too was wearing green and black, except her robe was black and embellished with green designs that resembled crawling ivy. Next to her sat her exact copy, only around James' age and wearing powdery blue robes with silver trimmings.

Arcturus walked into the room, aided by an ancient looking walking stick that was pitch black, except for the green emeralds that danced about the design. Upon closer inspection, James realized that the stick was covered in snakes, and that the emeralds were eyes.

_Jeez… these people do love their snakes… _was James' only thought.

Arcturus looked around and smiled. "Good of you all to come. I am especially glad to see you here, James."

All eyes turned to James and he nodded, falling into familiar protocol for these types of family events.

"Now you all may ask why you have been called. You are all busy people, but you are the ones I trust with this task, who have not been disowned by the family." Arcturus continued.

_Ah… that explains why Sirius isn't here. _James thought to himself.

"Violetta, who is this you have brought with you?"

All heads turned, and James was curious about who, precisely, was Arcturus addressing. He quickly found out when the fourtyish woman spoke.

"This is my daughter, Cassiopeia Luna Fitzgerald. Her younger brother is still in school, and too young to matter anyway." Violetta spoke.

Ignatius spoke first. "But, pray tell, who are you?"

Cassiopeia, the elder one, spoke. "This is my daughter Violetta Fitzgerald. She's my only daughter, and I left her with her father's family in America to study at the Rothschild Institute of Magic."

Ignatius sniffed. "Convenient for you. Everybody assumed you were unmarried and childless."

Cassiopeia nodded. "That's what I intended, Ignatius. And for it I am glad. Look what a mess staying in Britain has done to the family! Speaking of which, who is that?"

"Our daughter, Ursula. Seventh Year at the Sagemoor Academy for Witches. She's on track to becoming a Barrister for the Ministry."

James tuned the resulting dithering out. It was all about how they masked their children from the 'official' Black Family Tree for this reason or that, wanting to protect this interest or that one. It was the same old story. It was common practice to try and protect children during times of political upheval, which Britain, at least the magical government, had been in since the 30s. Others might pretend to be ignorant, but a family like the Blacks would have been aware of Voldemort for ages. Especially since, if the reports were true, his Death Eaters had been active since the mid fifties, well within the time it would have taken for Cassiopeia to have found the time to marry and have her daughter. If he had to estimate, she was born sometime in the 40s, during the War.**

"Enough!" Arcturus used a _sonorous _charm to get his family's attention. "Whatever the circumstances… you are all here now. As I said, we must protect the Black name. It is too great to fall into disarray and fade into history." Heads nodded around James. He still didn't understand why he was here.

"So I will be instituting _Patria Prosapia Imperium._"

James blinked once, and then twice. Others began murmuring as well, and Arcturus raised his hand to silence them all.

"It is the only way that I can be sure nothing… ill.. will affect the family interests. My Solicitor will send out the terms in detail, but the basics will entail this: if you are married currently, you will remain married until at least three viable offspring are born. Viable, meaning non-squibs. If you are not married you will marry a pureblood within an acceptable time frame, and then birth three viable offspring within an acceptable time. If you and your spouse die before your children are 17, then your children will be raised by one of the families on the list, and no other."

James sputtered. "Do you mean you wish to take away my right to choose who will raise my children should something happen to Lily or myself?"

Arcturus simply looked back at James. "Within reason, Mr. Potter. There will be a provision, allowing that the family you choose is within good standing, and able to properly support and train your child. Deference shall be given to those who dwell in this room." Arcturus paused. "You can't honestly say that you want that filthy Muggle family of your wife's any say in how your wizard children will be raised?"

James was appalled, even if he did despise Lily's remaining family. However, Lily spoke up just then.

"My parents are dead, and Petunia will have nothing to do with the raising of any of my children, lest the gates of Hell themselves freeze over." Lily spoke coldly. James wondered what had transpired between his wife and that sister of hers to spawn so much venom in his dear Lily.

Arcturus nodded. "Smart girl you have there, James. So all of you will sign the agreement. It has been settled." Arcturus stood and left the room, leaving the others to discuss matters. James walked over to where Violetta and Cassiopeia II were seated.

"Madames Fitzgerald. It is a pleasure to meet you." James bowed solemnly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter. The pleasure is mine." Violetta smiled genuinely.

"Did you come all the way back over here for this meeting?"

Violetta shook her head. "No. We've been back for a while, getting ready for Cassi's wedding.

"Wedding?" James looked at the young woman.

Cassiopeia II sniffed. "I am getting married on the Winter Solstice of this year. I have an apprenticeship with a Potions Master in France, and I want to have the wedding bit done before I started."

James nodded. "Fascinating. Is he British then? How did you two meet? "

Cassiopeia smiled. "We met during an exchange program. He came over to visit Rothschild's brother institution, Burundy. There was a social and we hit it off right away. Turns out he is a distant cousin, his many times Great Grandfather was first cousins with Phineus Negelius Black."

With that, a second piece of the puzzle fit together. Cassiopeia Fitzgerald would be a Black in name, and was quite literally the future of the family, unless by some miracle Sirius was restored to good standing.

While James put the puzzle together in his mind, Lily talked to Cassiopeia. "So Rothschild is an all girls school?"

Cassiopeia II nodded. "All girls, from ages 8 to 18. The Americans start witches and wizards off with basic magic much younger than here in England. Makes more room to learn more magic. Rothschild also believes in teaching Latin. A Rothschild witch is most coveted among American wizards. Most of us end up marrying Burundy wizards anyway. They're the only ones we socialize with, anyway. "

Lily smiled. "What's the school like?" James shook his head. Lily, ever the scholar.

Both Cassiopeia II and Violetta smiled, as if remembering a wonderful dream. "School runs full year, with a three week vacation after every quarter. Rothschild is completely private, unlike Salem or the Sariol Schools. Only purebloods of good standing are accepted, unless a particular student shows 'exceptional promise and work ethic.' "

"The grading is much stricter than what I hear of Hogwarts. There are three cloisters: Everett, Maplethorpe and Sutton. I was a Sutton. Our colors were green and silver, and our house mascot was a jaguar. My mother was an Everett, with purple and silver as the colors, and the lynx as a mascot. Maplethorps were maroon and silver, with the panther as a mascot. It was truly a rewarding place to attend school."

Lily found herself wondering what her life would have been like, attending a school like Rothschild. James just smiled and asked the next question that formed in his head.

"So, all that fancy American education, and yet here you are, back in Britain."

Cassiopiea narrowed her eyes. "Why yes, Mr. Potter. I came back to Britain because it is my ancestral home. Orion is British through and through, although for certain reasons he attended Beauxbatons instead. Don't give me that look you know full well that Beauxbatons has been co-ed since the early 1700s. This is where Ori lives now, and he wants to remain on the Isles. I could leave tomorrow and have another prospective husband and a job within the week. However, the Potions Master I am to study under is one of the best in the world. Thrice winner of the International Potions Brewing Tournament, and creator of several potions currently in use by governments and hospitals around the world to counteract the ill effects of several nasty curses.

James was slightly surprised. This girl, who appeared to be everything he hated about the Black Family, was actually intelligent. He couldn't back down now, hough. "Do you think we've got it all wrong, then? With your pureblood only education, do you think ill of Hogwarts for accepting students despite heritage?"

"No, most certainly I do not, Mr. Potter. I just feel like because you Brits get such a late start, and have all the mudbloods to keep pace, you don't make the full use of your education."

James turned a dangerous shade of puce, but felt Lily's hand just barely touching his. He looked over and saw her face was calm, her voice surprisingly even. "Well, how do the other schools in America do it, then? They can't have uneducated wizards and witches mucking about, now can they?"

Cassiopeia II shook her head. "Certainly not. They go to a special school at the first permanent signs of accidental magic, to avoid the messy clean-up that occurs if they were to remain in the American public school system. After they turn eight they either qualify for Salem, the largest public wizarding school in America, or one of the many smaller private schools that accepts regardless of blood or economic status. And Rothschild has been known to accept non-purebloods. There was an Everett my year who was the daughter of a muggle senator and his wife."

Lily nodded. "That makes sense. I suppose. Well, we must be going. We have not yet spoken to Ursula, and we also have things to do and matters to tend to. James?"

James simply nodded too angry to speak. They made it over to Ignatius and Lucretia, who was talking to Cassiopeia I. They made the same idle chatter, finding out about Ursula. They then left, knowing that Ignatius was itching to speak with Violetta and her daughter before the hour grew late. They said their farewells and went back to the apparition point to make the jumps back home.

The pair were soon back in their home in Gordric's Hollow. James practically exploded, while Lily started preparations for a proper dinner.

"How could you let that… insignificant little snit speak to you like that! The nerve of her! And Arcturus! He practically said your family would not be worthy of being associated with somebody with Black blood in their veins!" James wished to smash something mightily, and was at a loss at what it should be.

"James." Lily spoke quietly

"And Cassiopeia! That woman has been coming to see MY MOTHER on her deathbed, and can't even be bothered to tell my mother that she's been married and has children! Grandchildren!"

"JAMES!" Lily's wand was out and James felt simultaneously stunned and unable to speak. He wondered where she picked that little trick up from.

"I will unfreeze you, but you will remain quiet until I have finished talking, understood?"

James nodded, feeling much like a chastised child being caught out of bounds after curfew.

"Good. Sit."

James almost wanted to make a joke about not being Sirius, but felt it was not the time. He found his way over to an overstuffed chair his aunt had given the couple as a wedding present and sat down.

"Two things first. I was not offended, because I am still angry at what Petunia told me when I went to visit my parent's grave yesterday. Secondly, I was adopted."

James was startled. "Adopted? ADOPTED?"

Lily sighed. "Yes, adopted. As a baby, I was adopted, before I started in with the accidental magic bit. Petunia told me that she remembered very little, only that Mother came home one day with a baby. She told me that there were documents in the paperwork that Mother and Father had left, and two boxes of it were for me. We had quite the row, right out there above my parent's graves…" Lily sobbed. The wounds of losing her parents were still fresh.

Lily regained her composure after a minute and continued. "So I have these boxes… and I haven't but looked through a bit of it all. The important papers were right on top. It's what I did while you were on patrol last night." Lily took a small box out of her robe pocket and put it on the floor. She un-shrunk it and took out two faded envelopes, handing them to James.

One was Lily's Muggle birth certificate, listing her parents as Rose Connor Evans and Frederick Alan Evans. The second was a magical birth certificate, listing her mother's name as Susannah Fells, and her father's name as Henry Fulton. The stamp on the corner, which James had on his own certificate, shocked him to the core.

Blood Status: Pure

He barely saw the chicken scratch next to it indicating known purity of six generations. He gaped. He didn't understand. He looked up into Lily's face and saw unshed tears.

"According to the letter my birth mother wrote and left in the folder, she was only fourteen when I was born, and Henry was a married man visiting America on business. He told my mother that he would raise me here in Britain, since his wife could not conceive. She was to write him as soon as I was sent to the hospital in London and he would pick me up from there. She was not a willing participant in the 'relationship', still being a student at Rothschild at the time. Concealment charm to hide pregnancy only work when you're pregnant. It would have been impossible to hide me once I was born. I was sent to London when I was old enough to travel with the wet-nurse and left at St. Mungos. From there Henry was supposed 'adopt' me as his own, owing my looks to happy circumstance or maybe an adoption ritual. The adoption folder picks up from there, saying that a baby came in with a haggard looking man, who simply left the baby at the front desk with a note indicating my birth date and first name."

James sagged into the chair. He was stunned. Floored.

"I want to sign those papers, James."

James looked back up at his wife… his dear sweet Lily. "Papers?"

"I don't want my children left to the same mysterious fate I was left to, without any ties to my other family. I feel as though a large hole has been formed in my heart. A whole family I don't know anything about! What would life have been like as a pureblood in America?"

"It doesn't matter, Lils. Any child of mine will NOT be living with those bigoted bastards. I'd sooner send them to live with Andi Tonks. Sirius will be around… Alice and Frank will be around… Reums will be around… Heck, Peter makes a better choice than them."

"And what if they're not? We're in a dangerous organization… at any moment that door could burst open and Death Eaters could start pouring in. You've already got a target on your head for refusing their offer once. And they still think I'm a muggleborn… no amount of accurate information will dissuade them. And even if they DO find out who I am, that does not make me safe. You lot are Aurors! Whose to say that some random raid, Death Eaters aside, won't be the death of you?"

James was standing, although for the life of him he didn't remember doing it. "No! We can find somebody, ANYBODY to take our children in if the worst happens. Do you realize that the _Paternis _is unbreakable, superceding all other laws? It's older than Hogwarts! Back during the time of witch trials it was established to keep pureblood families together. Not even our wills would be able to stand against it! I am not handing that kind of power over to THAT family!"

Lily stood her ground. "And I say we don't have a choice! Sure, we can send our children to live with Alice and Frank, or any of the others you mentioned, but what if the choice isn't up to rational minds? Whose to say somebody takes the time to even read our wills! What if something so catastrophic happens and 'they' actually take over like Dumbledore thinks they are attempting? Our wills will be nothing more than a piece of paper to them! At least with the _Paternis _there is powerful magic that would prevent any misdeeds from going uncovered for too long."

James opened his mouth, and then closed it. Damn Lily and her intelligence. If the worst did happen, the _Paternis _would prevent anybody who is not on the list from keeping his children for any length of time. The magics binding the _Paternis _to the intendeds was strong and powerful. It was also ancient. Nobody he knew was capable of recreating, or tampering with magic that old. It was stronger than even an Unbreakable Oath, since instead of just binding one witch or wizard to another, it bound entire families in a bond only breakable upon death.

"Fine. We'll sign the paperwork. We can leave a will with the guardians with instructions. Merlin, I pray that nothing happens to us."

Lily nodded. "It will be fine, James. Arcturus didn't say anything about having to leave control of our estates to the intendeds, and perhaps this show of good will might keep the others from turning to Voldemort."

James sighed. "Maybe. So we sign it. Who do we choose?"

Lily was quick on that one. "Cassiopeia II and her future husband Ori. Neither of them seem inclined to become Death Eaters anytime soon, and you will note that all of the ones we suspect of being Death Eaters were conspicuously absent from the meeting."

James nodded slowly, running his hands absentmindedly through his hair. "Yeah, and Cassi practically ranted against the man. What does she know that we don't?"

"A lot. She's a Black. She's older than Voldemort. She's not likely to go following every random man claiming to… whatever Voldemort uses to get followers these days."

James had to agree. "Yeah, and the Blacks have enough properties that if the worst does happen, our children will be safe. And Violetta still has family in the States. That's got to count for something."

Lily smiled softly. "So we sign?"

James nodded. "We sign."

* * *

*Yeah, so I'm not crazy, but here's how my interpretation of this works. According to my source, Charlus was not James' father. This means Charlus had a brother. He would have been old enough to marry the daughter of Belvina Black and Herbert Burke. Making James' mother a "Black" through her mother, and still closely enough related to them for my plot.

** A timeline for the confused: Cassiopeia I was born in 1915, left England for America in 1937, married and had Violetta. Since there was a war, Violetta remained in America and married, giving birth to Cassiopeia II. Because of continued political unrest in England and reverse persecution of purebloods, the younger generations remained in America whereas Cassiopeia I returned shortly after her husband's death in the early 1970s.

A/N Just an intro to what I hope is a rewarding 'what if' story. Although I do notice something strange about the Black Family Tree that I'm using to keep me honest about the generations. If the dates are correct, Irma and Pollux Black had Walburga when Pollux was thirteen. THIRTEEN! The chart I'm looking at states that Pollux was born in 1912, and Walburga, his daughter and Sirius' mother, was born in 1925. I think it might be wrong. Tell me in comments!


	2. Another Link in the Chain

Only the characters I created are mine. Here's the next installment. This story is moving along at a nice clip, although I don't know where I want it to end up yet. The next chapter will write itself, and after that it's just a sketch in my brain. With apologies to Pink Floyd for the chapter title, here goes...

* * *

June 1981

James sat at the desk in the den, just off the living room of his modest house, writing the third of many letters he had to get sent off before the month was out. Things had gotten quite dangerous, attacks happened on almost a nightly basis, and he really wasn't sure when it would be his name on the list in the Daily Prophet. Lily was at Alice's house, the two boys playing together in the simple way that infants often did.

Finally he finished, signing his name with a flourish. Sirius would be by later today, and from there he would take the letters to Ireland, where Ursula would pick them up and have them delivered to where they needed to go. Both Sirius and Ursula would keep a set of the letters for themselves, just in case.

James thought about the past few years, after he had gone to Arcturus' meeting. The paperwork had come by owl post two days later with slightly more provisions than he remembered hearing about. His children would go to one of the listed guardians first, and then if he had left a will, it would be followed as far as placement if the _Paternis _guardians felt it was appropriate. There were no trust fund requirements, but he was allowed to set one up and dictate how it should be used.

Second, and more surprising, was how close Lily had gotten to both Cassiopeia II and Ursula. Ursula was a solicitor, and was acting to help James and Lily make the most of their legal rights regarding Harry. Of course, Ursula was a major point of contention between Lily and Molly. Molly never had anything nice to say about Ursula or her parents, especially since her brothers had died. The fact that Ursula and her parents were some last true Prewitts left didn't phase her. Not that

Lily had also tracked down her birth mother in New England and began correspondence. Lily's mother, Susannah, was now married with two babies Harry's age. Lily wanted to go and visit, and take Harry along, but it was much to dangerous to travel with the increased attacks. James often worried about even the small trips to visit the Longbottoms, but he feared that Lily would go crazy if she had to stay in the house without contact with the outside world.

James sighed. He took in the stack of papers that sat in front of him. One was his Will, which Lily would have to sign, and he would have to imprint with his magical signature in front of a witness. The second was the paperwork setting up Harry's trust fund. That would be filed by Ursula. The next one was a 'guidance' that would be sent off to Cassiopeia and Orion. They had to receive it ASAP, since it had to be received while the parents were alive. The others were just letters to be mailed off in case he died. He knew Lily had a similar set of letters ready to be sent off in case the worst happened.

James sighed again. He had been doing that a lot lately, since finding out that Voldemort had put out a 'kill on sight' order for both him and Lily. He would be going under a special charm, _Fidelius _or something like that, and so all of this work had to be done before Albus came over to administer it. He had argued with Sirius long and hard, but both felt that Peter would be the better choice, if only because Sirius was under intense scrutiny already because of his other cousins' questionable affiliations.

James got up and went upstairs to Harry's room. He took out the three trunks he had gotten the last time he had been able to sneak into Diagon Alley, and un-shrunk them.

"Ya gotta do what ya gotta do" he mumbled to himself, and set about his task.

In the first trunk he put all the pictures he could find of himself, Lily and the other Marauders. There were plenty from his time at Hogwarts, but more recent pictures had been few and far between. In this trunk he also put in a letter to Harry, age 8. He took a copy of two of Harry's favorite stuffed animals, and the blanket that his mother had made him when he was a baby. He also put clothes, a hard copy of _Quiddich Through The Ages, _and his autographed picture of the Brighton Raptors, his favorite Quiddich team. Even though the Raptors had dissolved, he wanted Harry to have something particularly special from him.

He also added books. All sorts of books from the Potter Family Library, some books and notes from his and Lily's time at Hogwarts, and books about pureblood traditions, rites of passage and other important information specific to being a Potter Heir following the traditional pureblood protocols. They were not practices he still followed, but the risk of Harry being ignorant in a hostile environment was too great to offhandedly dismiss the traditions of his forefathers. With the way Voldemort and his followers talked, the only thing that might keep Harry alive would be his blood.

In the second trunk he added more books and notes, a lot of his Transfiguration notes and some of Lily's advanced Charms work. Finally he put in a few pictures of him on the Quiddich team at Hogwarts, and his old scarf. He would ask Lily if they should include their Prefect badges when she came back. He also put in this trunk a copy of Harry's birth certificate, and all the legal documentation that Lily had managed to gather about her birth family. This trunk was finished off with a letter addressed to Harry, Age 11.

As an afterthought he dropped in a key where the larger of Harry's trust vault would be. Dumbledore had insisted on getting a key to Harry's vault, but somehow James was apprehensive of letting go with all Harry stood to inherit upon entrance to Hogwarts, so he had taken out a small sum and set up a smaller vault for Harry. He figured Dumbledore just wanted to be able to give Harry something special, but the amount in the smallest vault barely contained half a million Galleons, once all was said and done. He wrote in his letter to Ursula that upon his death all outstanding vaults other than Harry's trust vault would be merged with the main Potter vault, including his personal vault and Lily's school vault.

The main vault contained significantly more than that, as well as furniture and other various items not left at his parent's home. Most of it had been from old Potter homes that had been sold after his father's funeral. He had only kept two other houses, along with the house he currently lived in. The weight of being the last male Potter still alive had been too much for James, and consolidating assets once spread across any number of cousins had been the option both he and Lily agreed upon. They'd kept the oldest and largest of the Potter homes and the home on the Isle that he frequented as a child. He wasn't even sure what was in the main Potter vault, since his salary had been enough to live off of, plus his personal vault containing the inheritance he had gotten upon graduating from Hogwarts. There was an inventory within the main vault, drawn up by the goblins when his mother had died, but by then Lily was pregnant with Harry and he spent most of his time fighting Death Eaters and conducting raids on possible Death Eater hideouts. The inventory would go in the final trunk. Whatever was in the vaults, Harry would be well taken care of. James closed the lid and moved on to the final trunk.

This one he only put a few things in. A couple of things Remus had wanted Harry to have, a couple of things Sirius had dropped by previously when James had told him what he was doing, and more books. These books contained information of a more questionable nature, from a different era of the Potter family. James was less likely to include these in Harry's education, but with the uncertainty of what kind of world Harry would be growing up in, he did not want to take chances. He also included the Potter family lineage book. It had the family tree and other essential family information written down from centuries of Potters. The book was older than Hogwarts, and held together by family magic. As long as a person with Potter blood lived, the book would remain whole. James had added his own small section about Harry and Lily, the war with Voldemort, and made sure that the family tree within the book reflected Lily's status as a New England-born pureblood. Again, James didn't care one whit about it, but this book was too important to the family for his personal feelings to change centuries of tradition.

Also in this trunk he put in newspaper clippings, some of Lily's more recent Charms notes, things that she had been experimenting with as of late. In this trunk he also put in the most recent copy of the Potter holdings, and the balance of goods and money in both his and Lily's old school vault, and the larger Potter vault. Here he also put keys to both vaults, as well as detailed instructions about how to go about claiming his rights at Gringotts. The last thing that went in was a letter addressed to Harry, Age 15.

James looked around the room quickly, trying to figure out if there was anything else he should put in the trunk. Most of the things in the trunk had copies around the room already. He hadn't thought about giving Harry birthday presents and Solstice presents, but if all went well he wouldn't have to. He left the trunks open, knowing that Lily had her own letters and other sundry items she would want to include. As an afterthought he moved the lineage book to the Age 8 trunk, figuring that the earlier he got that the better.

James went back downstairs, and turned on the radio. He didn't have a single thing left he could think to do, so he simply poured himself two fingers of Dwarfmeiser, his favorite drink, and sat down to listen to the latest play-by-play. His eyes happened to catch a shimmer, and he walked over, picking up the light as air filmy material he recognized as his Invisibility Cloak.

"Now how did that get here?" He murmured. He swore he had given it to Dumbledore to use during the last Order meeting he had been at. He shook his head, and downed the drink in his hand, his mind lost in the happier times he had with this cloak.

After some consideration, he took it back upstairs, and put it in the second trunk, in a separate sealed compartment. He wanted Harry to have it, but only if he was able to find it first. Then, after another thought he penned a quick note to Sirius instructing him about picking up a toy training broom to put in the trunk for Harry. He then wrote another quick note to Harry, and stuck it in one of the books he was leaving Harry, picking a book at random and thrusting it within. This note, he hoped, would clue Harry in to the fact that there was a secret compartment in this trunk, and that if he opened it he would be rewarded.

With that done, James went downstairs again, his mind troubled and his stomach empty. He couldn't wait for Lily to come home, so he took out his wand and used his rusty homemaking skills to find a meal himself.

* * *

"What are those trunks up in Harry's room?"

"Stuff. For him. In case something happens to us." James didn't look up from the article he was reading, about the "Orange Curse", surrounding a very lengthy losing streak by the Chudley Cannons.

"I can see that it's stuff. But why?" Lily padded over to the chair next to James', a sandwich in one hand, and a can of Fizz-a-Le in the other.

James sighed. "It's a bunch of things that I felt we would want Harry to have, divided by when we would want him to have them. Pictures of us, our old Hogwarts stuff, books from the library in Staffordshire, other things…"

Lily sighed and took a bite of her sandwich. "So you believe something will happen to us? Both of us?"

James sighed and put the magazine down. "I can't deny that I don't feel like something's coming. I just don't want to be caught with my hands in the air. Things are getting bad, Lils…"

Lily nodded. "I know. I'm just glad that I've been able to see Alice every once in a while."

James smiled. "How are they?"

Lily laughed. "Neville is a little butterball, he and Harry get along famously, even if all they do is drool at each other giggling and blowing bubbles."

James laughed, but quickly sobered. "Hey, Lils… you got anything you wanna put in those trunks?"

Lily thought for a minute. "Yeah. I'll see what's up there and maybe put in a few things. How are we…"

"Sirius. He'll take them and put two of them in Harry's trust vault. The other he'll give to Cassi."

"How will we know that nobody else will be able to get into them?"

James sighed. He really didn't want to have to tell Lily this, but it was the only way, after two months of research, he could find to keep Harry able to get in and others from getting in.

"Blood Seal."

Lily turned around so fast that James was afraid he was going to die, right then and there, at the end of Lily's wand. "A BLOOD SEAL?"

"Just because it's blood doesn't mean it's dark magic. It's just very, very old magic witches and wizards used to protect their things. Only somebody with enough Potter blood will be able to open them."

Lily was quiet, but her eyes were still dangerously dark. "Are you sure this is the only way?"

James nodded. "If anything happens, the person who opens those trunks has to be a direct descendant of the Potter line. Non-transferable, impervious to attack, poison proof, _fiendfyre _proof… triple tested by Gringotts curse breakers… nobody's getting in those trunks except Harry, or maybe his children."

Lily let out a low whistle. "You really worked hard on this, didn't you?"

James nodded. "I did research for two months into alternatives that don't hinge on 'dark' magic. Short of wandering into Knockturn Alley for a cursed trunk this is the best I could do to keep everybody else out."

Lily nodded, only partially satisfied. She knew locking charms and other things were unlikely to hold up to a master, or a very powerful wizard hell bent on getting to the contents of the trunks.

"Fine, fine fine… I'll work out what I want to put in them. You hungry?"

* * *

August 19, Godric's Hollow

"Here are the trunks, Sirius. How did the letter delivery go?"

"Plenty well. Ursula verified the magical signatures and signed the wills. She also date stamped all the letters so that they could be verified as written and delivered by you while you were still alive."

James nodded. "Did you get the broom?"

Sirius nodded. "Cleansweep 180, for ages 2 to 8. Self-shrinking with parental controls. Best and safest on the market." Sirius paused. "You know you're going to be around to teach him to fly right? That all of this is a load of bollocks."

James smiled. "I hope so. I hope so. We'll open those trunks when he gets old enough and have a right good laugh at ourselves for being so scared."

"So this is it?" Sirius was sad. It hadn't been a week since he started at Hogwarts that he had not seen James.

"No, Sirius, this isn't it. Albus will be by later to set up the charm. When everything dies down we'll be back out running around again. Promise."

Sirius laughed. "Yeah we will! And little Prongslet will be right out there with us! Won't ya?"

Harry, who was bouncing happily on his mother's knee, simply smiled and blew a bubble at Sirius, who laughed again.

"Everything's going to be fine." Sirius smiled. James dropped the wills in the first trunk, the one Harry would be getting right away, and Sirius moved to drop a small package into the second chest.

"What's that, Padfoot?"

Sirius smiled. "A little something, care of his Uncle Sirius."

James turned to his friend, the question on his face. "You never know…" Sirius sighed. "The 'family' is at full force, and with my brother's disappearance I don't want to chance Harry not knowing who I really am. It's funny how memories get tainted once you're gone."

James nodded. He understood. He looked one last time at the trunks, and moved to close them, activating the blood seal with a prick of the finger. Each one glowed with a number, indicating the age that a person had to reach before being able to open the trunks. The trunks then sealed with a dark purple light, and James stood back up, shrinking them all. He picked them back up again and handed them to Sirius.

"Here ya go." James plopped the three trunks into Sirius' hands, and Sirius pocketed them.

"So, will ya have a cuppa or two before you leave?" James asked.

* * *

September 9, 1981: Unknown

"I have been made the Secret Keeper to the Potters, my Lord."

Twin crimson eyes glimmered in the dark. "Excellent. You have served me well. _CRUCIO." _

A body curled up, body slamming uncontrollably as his neurons misfired and his bladder gave way from the pain.

"That was for taking so long bringing me this information. Carrow, Crouch, clean that mess up."

* * *

October 31, Mid-afternoon.

Lily felt odd. She had been feeling odd all day. Not sick, but just a skin crawling feeling that something terrible was happening.

The attacks had increased, so there was little news on the radio these days, except a count of the newly dead. Mostly muggleborns, and of course the radio said nothing of the muggles killed trying to reach those muggleborns. Being left to her own devices with only old _Witchly Home _magazines to keep her company was rough. She looked at the dusty pile of books that sat on Harry's dresser. They had come from the attic, books that she had hidden even from James. One of her housemates had given them to her ages ago.

"_But this is dark magic, Nadine!" _Lily had whispered in the corner of the library where her sometimes friend, Nadine, had called her.

"_These are dark times, Evans. Better to have the books and not need them, then to find yourself needing them and not having them. You're a powerful witch, smart. Keep the books. There's a portkey in there as well. My family's library. You'll find more stuff there that will raise the hair on your neck, but it will be a safe and healthy neck." _Nadine had whispered.

So Lily had taken the books, and they lived in her school trunk until she got married. Then they moved to a dark corner of the attic to make room for a keepsake box for any children she would have. She was thinking about hiding the books in Harry's baby bag, along with his favorite recipes and a couple of other things. Jewelry her mother had left her, for instance.

She had been staring at the books for ten minutes, after putting Harry down for his nap. She shook the cobwebs out of her head and shrunk the books and hid them in Harry's stuffed dog.

"Just in case." She whispered. She shrunk the bag again, like her and James had practiced, and put the bag back on its charm around Harry's wrist. It was complicated, her own invention, and to anybody else it would just look like a baby bracelet with Harry's name on it. However, she had taken the precaution of sending the instructions to Cassiopeia, Harry's intended guardian via the _Paternis _order.

If anything happened, and Harry managed to survive, Cassi would be able to un-shrink the charm, revealing the bag. It also had a safety feature, meaning that if somebody was just scrying the charm, trying to figure out what it was and how to open it, numerous not-so-nice things would happen to that person. Lily laughed at the thought of some random Death Eater attempting to undo the charm and ending up with bright blue hair and bright green skin for a week.

She sighed. She couldn't shake this feeling, and it troubled her to no end. It was as if all the magic in the world was pressing down on the small house.

"I just hope I'm wrong." Lily said to herself. She looked at Harry one more time, deep in the dreams of babes, and went downstairs to make James and her some lunch.

* * *

October 31st, 9pm

"Tonight is the night." Voldemort declared. "Tonight is the night when we shall have our final victory against those who oppose us."

The gathered group, hooded and fully masked, felt jubilation washing over them. Their Lord would have victory at last!

"We will move out in groups, as before. Carrow, your group will target the latest headquarters of Dumbledore's group. Yaxley, your group will target the Auror's headquarters. Lestrange, your group has its assignment. And I will move against Potter. We will have victory tonight, and tomorrow, the world will be ours!"

There was cheering, and the Dark Lord allowed it. These were his faithful, his specially chosen among the mindless mouldable masses. He raised a hand and the group was silent once more.

"In the morning, I will give the signal to move against the Ministry proper. Without the Aurors for support it will topple, it will fail, and they will die."

More cheering, and the Dark Lord allowed this, as well.

"Leave me. I must prepare."

The group disbanded, except for two people who would accompany Voldemort on the strike against the Potter house. "Dolochov, Wormtail. Have you made preparations?"

"Yes, my Lord." The taller and the slimmer of the two spoke. He had three Imperiused curse-breakers at his disposal, ready to break the wards around the Potter house, to make ready for his Lord's entrance.

"They suspect nothing, my Lord." The short and squat man spoke next. "They think that they are safe from you."

"Good. You have played your role well, Wormtail." The Dark Lord was pleased. Things were going well. The other side was falling like flies, and his mandate to the men of his group was also going according to plan.

It had not been something he had even given a thought to, until Malfoy had come to him, whispering about the need to have a new generation ready to serve him, and to enforce his will among the people. He had agreed, and had ordered his followers to have children. Most of them had complied, and the viable birth rate among purebloods was up. He would have a continuous strong army to keep the mudbloods in line, even as his older followers died off.

The pregnant and the newly birthed were in a secure location, safe from Order raids. They must be protected at all cost. He even had Severus working on a potion to restore fertility to those who had lost it due to 'genetic problems' with great success. After all, what was a Dark Lord, but a man, without followers?

"We will leave in an hour. Make any final preparations you must make before then."

"Yes, my Lord." The pair bowed and left.

The Dark Lord was pleased. Victory was so close he could smell it.

* * *

October 31st, 10:30 PM

James sat in the living room, feeling the same tension that Lily had felt earlier. He dismissed it, but still. Lily sat on the floor with a wide awake Harry, up far beyond his bedtime. She was trying to lull him to sleep, but the boy would not sit still for anything.

"Maybe he feels it too." Lily sighed. She sat Harry down on the floor, and handed him his blocks. The bracelet was still around his wrist, and only a silencing spell kept it from jingling.

"Maybe." James sighed. He idly twirled his wand as he waited for the static to clear on the radio. He was hoping somebody was out there broadcasting, and could report on the American Cup, the only Quiddich going on, best to his knowledge. Then the lights flickered, and the ground shuttered.

"What the…" James jumped up, and the ground shuddered a second time. When the ground shuddered a third time, accompanied by a loud explosion, James knew something terrible was happening.

He turned to Lily, who was already in motion. Everything slowed down at that point. He watched as Lily scooped Harry up, and then a splintering sound caught his attention from behind. He turned to see Voldemort himself, striding into the room, cloak billowing behind him.

"LILY! TAKE HARRY UPSTAIRS!" James shouted as he whirled around, a spell on his lips.

James could hear Lily's feet pounding against the stairs, even over the sound of his own blood rushing through his head. Voldemort was speaking, and James shot off a spell, not fully knowing which one he had chosen. The last thing James Potter saw was a bright green light heading towards him, and the realization he would be too slow to dodge it was the last thought in his mind.

* * *

Voldemort cursed the supidity of the Potter man before stepping over his body and moving up the stairs to follow the mudblood and her spawn. He found her in the second room he checked, waving her wand over the baby. She whirled around and pointed her wand at him.

"Stand aside, foolish girl. It's not you I want, it's the child."

Lily somehow summoned up the courage to respond. "Over my dead body."

Voldemort chuckled. "Do you know that fool Severus begged for your life even as he condemned the life of your child?"

Lily narrowed her eyes and fired of a single spell. It hit squarely on target and Voldemort hissed from the pain.

"FOOL! _Avada Kedavra!"_

Lily Potter slumped to the ground, as the house shook again. Voldemort realized that time was of the essence. If the wards he had broken were any indication, one of the Order fools would be along any minute to 'protect' their prophecy.

Voldemort walked over to the baby, who was staring at him with startling green eyes. _Slytherin Green._ Voldemort thought.

"Such a strong baby. Tonight, you die. _Avada Kedavra!" _

Harry stared at the stranger as the bright green light flowed out of the stick he was waving. Somewhere in the back of his mind the word 'wand' wanted to attach to this stick. He watched it flow towards him, and then flow away again and strike the man with the bright red eyes squarely in the chest. His head hurt. Tremendously. And there was too much noise. His crib shook, and he let out an ear-splitting wail. He felt strange sensations in his head, cold and hot at the same time, and he didn't like it one bit. He cried louder, hoping that somebody _mama dada pafoo mooie _would hear him.

* * *

A/N. Hope you enjoyed it. If you have questions about anything, including my logic, let me know. If I misspelled a word or a key name, let me know that too. I want people to enjoy my story without cringing about misspellings or what not.

Look for Chapter 3 soon!


	3. Falling Apart

This chapter backtracks just slightly, to follow Sirius, and then picks up where we last saw our characters.

* * *

August 3, 1981

Sirius stepped into the cool confines of Gringotts Bank, and told the goblin which vaults he wanted. He had the keys for Harry's vaults. They would go into his personal vault for safekeeping. Cassi already had a copies in case something happened to him. It would do no good for somebody to catch him now and take the key from him. He felt his pockets for the trunks, and felt the satisfying lumps deep within a hidden pocket of his robes.

He entered Harry's vault and deposited the trunks on a small table where they would be easily seen. He then looked around, to make sure everything was as it should be, and left. He called for the cart again, instructing the goblins to take him to his vault, deeper in the catacombs below Gringotts.

He entered his vault, filled with the inheritance his mother didn't know Arcturus had granted him. His grandfather cared for his mother little, thought her a fool for disowning the last male alive that could carry on the Black main line in name, and had left a little loophole for him to have some claim to his money. He ignored the stacks of money and deposited the key in a safe place close to the back of the vault. He set several charms on it, to keep it from being taken away by anybody else, and walked out. All he had to do now was track down Ursula or Cassi and give them Harry's final trunk, to be opened when he turned 8.

* * *

November 3: 2 AM

Sirius stood laughing as the surviving Aurors took him away. Peter had done it. He had betrayed his best friends and now framed him for their murder, as well as his. He knew Peter was somewhere around here. He had to be.

"I'LL GET YOU PETTIGREW FOR WHAT YOU DID! I"LL GET YOU AND YOU"LL ROT IN HELL JUST LIKE YOUR DEAR DEPARTED DARK LORD!" Sirius screamed as he felt the manacles clamp around his wrists. "FILTHY TRAITOR! BETRAYED OUR FRIENDS!" Sirius was quite apt to laugh and cry at the same time. For all of Peter's cowardly behavior, this had been some stunt. Sirius laughed out loud again. It was positively Slytherin of his old friend to have pulled off something like this.

Soon Sirius was in a holding cell waiting to be taken to Azkaban. When he finally calmed down, he realized his folly. He had done it again. He had acted without thinking and now Harry might suffer because of it. Instead of going out with a bang he was going out with a whimper, a shadow of himself rotting away in Azkaban and he couldn't even plead his case to Dumbledore. The man refused to even take his floo call. Not even his old boss, Mad-Eye Moody would listen to his tale. It made him angry, but he saw what acting like his usual self had gotten him. Maybe it was time to tap into his Slytherin side… if there was still any of that left in him. He waited, and watched as others were gathered into the holding cells, real knuckle draggers too stupid to not get caught. He would wait. He had to. He would bide his time. He would get a fair trial and the truth would come out.

"Good thing I'm on good terms with two of the family Solicitors, and that older members of said family still have dealings with me." Sirius mumbled to himself.

It wasn't until later, much later, after they had stripped him of everything but the clothes he was wearing under his robes that he felt it. A tiny lump.

"What the bloody hell?"

Sirius fished around his shirt and found a tiny trunk, caught in an inner pocket. His eyes widened when he realized what it was.

"Bloody Hell."

It was Harry's third trunk.

* * *

November 5, 1981

Ursula Prewitt stood in the front foyer of Rigdemoor, the Estate belonging to Orion and Cassiopeia Black. Deep within she could hear the sounds of a small child playing. She waited for Cassiopeia, her cousin, to appear.

Ursula looked around. This was her first official visit to the home after it had been restored. The foyer was more like a grand hallway, with twin staircases spiraling up to a second story landing, and one more rose into a third story. The chandelier that hung overhead was large. It was antique silver, polished in a way that only magic could attain, with diamonds dripping from it like tiny raindrops. The floors were a dark polished marble, inlaid in a complicated design of highly polished cream marble. Around the foyer hung four tapestries depicting pastoral scenes that she knew from her studies were the old Equinox and Solstice rituals. While her particular branch of the family did not practice these per se, they still observed some of the rites, and she knew the older pureblood families practiced the old rituals and rites to the letter.

To her left, between Spring and Summer, was a set of great mahogany double doors, leading to what she suspected was a formal sitting room and a sun room. To her right was another set of doors, within which she knew to be a hallway that led to the kitchens, a small dining room and a larger dining room. Directly in front of her was a larger, more ornate set of double doors, where she was sure the newly restored ballroom was housed.

At that moment Cassiopeia floated downstairs, bearing in her arms a tiny girl with snowy white hair. She hit the landing and smiled.

"Ursula! So good of you to come!"

Ursula smiled, although it was thin. "Cassi! Good to see you as well. How is little Drusilla doing?"

Cassi beamed. "She's doing well. About to turn three in a week or so. She's been having bouts of accidental magic, so there's no concern of her being… you know…"

"A squib." Ursula supplied

Cassi nodded. She was a great beauty, a credit to her genes. She had dark, almost black hair and startling blue green eyes. She was tall and slender with a complexion that managed to be creamy and pale without looking sickly. At 5'7", she was tall as women went, but on her it did not look gangly and just added to her grace. Her hair, normally up in a complicated bun that kept it out of her face during her Potions work, now flowed down to her mid back in gentle waves.

"Shall we go to the sitting room?" Cassiopeia asked. "Ori is already up there, having gathered the paperwork you sent from Sirius and James back in the spring."

"Yes. I think that's a good idea. " Ursula wished to explore what they had done with the home, but her business was urgent.

The two walked back up the stairs, and through the double doors that stood on the second floor landing. Ursula had a feeling they were charmed to lock automatically, and would only open for a member of the household. She wouldn't be surprised. Orion was an impressive spellcrafter.

The hallway opened up to reveal lush dark blue carpeting, and striped walls in twin bands of silver, with tiny lines of blue separating the broader silver stripes. Along this hallway were four sets of massive doors. As they passed them, Cassiopeia explained each door.

"This door is the nursery. It's been divided up for sleeping quarters for Dru and Harry, when he comes. There's a play area in it as well. This door leads to one of the guest suites. There are four rooms within, each with a small bathroom. This door leads to the Master suite, and here is our destination."

The pair stopped at a set of doors on the right, which led directly into a more relaxed sitting area. Lush green carpeting covered the floor, and the walls were a rich cream color. There were three chairs and a sofa, covered in rich brown leather, surrounding a small table set for tea. On the far wall was a fireplace, which roared with light and warmth. On the mantle sat several artifacts, and portraits of persons from both Cassi's family and Orion's family lined the walls. To her left, next to the fireplace, two sliding wooden doors revealed a very large library, complete with a heavy mahogany desk, where Orion was sitting.

"Just make yourself comfortable. I'm going to call for the nurse to watch Dru while we talk." Cassiopeia swept out of the room, her dark green robes swirling behind her.

Ursula took in the room some more, and settled herself down on one of the large chairs. Shortly Cassiopeia came back, smiling.

"The nurse is the best idea we ever came up with. She's not too bright, but she cares for children greatly, and she's from a good family. Just couldn't get any work at St. Mungos."

"Why not?" Ursula's interest was peaked.

"She's a pureblood, and I think that they've got a quota system set up to hire mudbloods or something like that." Cassiopeia shrugged.

Ursula nodded. "Now the nursery…"

Cassiopeia nodded "Yes, that's just until they get old enough to need a room to themselves. The children's rooms are all upstairs. Six rooms total. One for Harry, one for Dru, and four more that are currently guest rooms. There's plenty of room up there, because I know how children like to bring their little friends home from school to spend the night. Each child will have plenty of their own space."

Ursula smiled. Cassiopeia had really thought of everything. "So what about the nursery? What will become of it?"

"It will become a study room and a small classroom. We plan on tutoring the children here until it's time to send them off to school. Part of it will still be a playroom for a while yet. And then maybe we'll turn it into a practice room."

Ursula smiled again. "How thoughtful. I do hate to be the bearer of bad news Cassi…"

Cassi held her hand up. "ORI! Do come in here, I hate to have to repeat what she's about to tell me."

Said Ori came in from the library. He was a Black, true to form. Dark black hair, grey eyes and dashingly aristocratic features. He wore a smart robe trimmed in fur, even though in the house he had little need for it.

Ursula took a deep breath. "There have been some… complications."

Cassiopeia paused in her pouring of tea. "What KIND of complications?"

Ursula swallowed, hoping she would have all her limbs when she left this meeting.

"Harry's missing, and nobody can tell me where he is, why he's missing, or who took him in the first place."

"WHAT!" Cassiopeia dropped the teacup, which was her grandmother's third best, and it shattered in a million pieces, spilling tea everywhere. "What do you mean he's MISSING?"

"Just that. After the _Fidelius _charm was cast, all records indicate that Harry had been with his parents. After the attack…" Both Blacks flinched "He was reported as fine, and those are the last reports anybody has."

Cassiopeia's hands were whiter than ever as she fought to keep from drawing her wand and firing at an innocent inanimate object, or even an innocent bearer of bad news. "WHO reported him as 'fine'? HIS PARENTS JUST DIED! The house was DESTROYED! HE can't have been FINE! HE VANQUISHED…." Cassi trailed off.

"Yes. If the reports are to be believed as true, Harry vanquished the Dark Lord. Apparently when the wards around his house fell there were a number of people keyed to be alerted. They went, and then Aurors were called. First response Aurors reported that the 'baby appeared fine and was taken to safety'. That's the last we know about where Harry is."

Cassi struggled to keep her breathing even. For once she was glad for the exercises her mother forced her to take, and soon she was capable again of more than just blind rage. "SAFETY was here! He should have come here IMMEDIATELY. When there was a delay I assumed the worst, and then I assumed the boy was simply at St. Mungos being checked out before being released to my LEGAL custody!" Cassi was pacing now, tea forgotten. "All protocol indicates that even if nobody knew who was to take custody of the baby, he should have been taken to his father's last living relatives. Absent any living Potters, that's JB Burke, his grandmother's brother... I just don't understand how NONE of the protocol was followed! WHO is responsible? This is reprehensible!" Cassi whirled around on her heels and faced Ursula again. "Pray tell me Ursula, who were the first respondents?"

"Albus Dumbledore reportedly got there first. Him and an Auror only listed on the forms as Moody."

* * *

A/N. Sorry this chapter is so short, but I wanted to end this section here. The next chapter is almost done, and depending on how work and class go tomorrow (today? It's 2am…) I will be able to get the second part of this chapter posted by sometime Thursday night or Friday. Happy Reading! Review people! And check my poll. I want responses so I can post another poll. As I always say… I'm often not the best at spelling HP Lexicon names correctly, so if I've misspelled something let me know and I'll go back and fix it. Also, as chapters go on we'll get much more insight into what type of person Cassiopeia Fitzgerald Black is, and why she's so angry when she barely knows Harry.


	4. Progress

A/N

Thanks for the reviews and the support. Here's the next installment. This chapter was quite difficult to write, but after this we will focus on Harry and all that... Once again, I'm not JK... Ive just borrowed her characters and added a few of my own. Read, review and enjoy. Oh, and there's a poll on my profile. Primary Ships have already been decided. I might have a poll later to deal with Ginny, but that's later. Enjoy!

* * *

January 8, 1982

Cassiopeia Fitzgerald Black was in a rage. No, a rage was what she was in back in November, when her charge vanished completely. She sat her daughter down in the private section of the child-care facility at the Ministry and stormed in. She stalked right past the receptionist, some filthy blood-traitor no doubt, and stormed into the Under Secretary's office.

"I DEMAND an explanation!"

The toad-like woman blinked at her once, then twice, and with a voice that sounded like sugar dripping off of a candy cane spoon she asked.

"An explanation for what?"

Cassi took a deep breath. "Of course I can't expect you Ministry types to act with any degree of competence. The child I am supposed to be guardian of is MISSING! He's been missing since November when the _Paternis _I signed on him kicked in. I have filed numerous bits of paperwork, gone to see the man last reported as having the child, and NOTHING!"

The woman hiccuped. A _Paternis _claim was serious business indeed. "Who is this child, may I ask?"

"Harry Potter. I have the paperwork right here. Signed and dated before the boy was born." Cassiopeia handed over one of her copies of the paperwork to this toad-woman who looked as she had a bad spill with a stomach-calming potion.

The woman chuckled, and moved to inspect the paperwork. "This is an authentic document, I trust?"

"Of course it is! Do you think somebody of my stature would come in making insane demands of the Ministry? WHERE IS THE BOY?"

The Undersecretary sighed. "Nobody knows. Albus Dumbledore claims he's taken the boy somewhere safe. Nobody's seen him since that night. He says that there are wards to keep the boy from harm. He refuses to say anything else but that he will be taken care of."

"That is unacceptable! Albus Dumbledore is NOT a member of Child Services, and despite his many titles does NOT have the right to pick up infants and place them where he desires without any input from anybody else." Cassiopeia snapped, her eyes glowing with rage and barely restrained power. "IF you do not find him, I WILL, and you might not like how I choose to do it." Cassiopeia growled, and turned swiftly on her heels. As the door closed behind her, the toad-woman chuckled again.

"Oh Albus, what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

* * *

February 1, 1982

The atmosphere in Courtroom 11 was intense, to say the least. It had been a tumultuous few months, with the trials of many accused Death Eaters occurring. The aged wizards of the judiciary had heard every defense imaginable. In the end, much to the chagrin of quite a few Order members, many more accused Death Eaters had walked free than had been sent to Azkaban. All told, the evidence against most of them HAD been circumstantial (Rule 1 of being a Slytherin: Never Get Caught) and most of the accused had been given probation rather than a jail sentence. It had caused an uproar, but without solid proof of wrongdoing, the courts could only monitor supposed Death Eaters. The backlash would have been too great otherwise.

However, today was not about another Death Eater trial, it was far more important to the overall dealings within British Wizarding Society than that: Today was a challenge for custody regarding one Harry James Potter (etc, etc). The entire Wizengamot sat in audience, as well as members of the press corps. It was mixed judiciary sitting as a group (en banc) that heard the testimony. Parties on both sides had prepared testimony, and hoped to convince the judges that they were correct.

It was just that nobody expected what happened to actually happen.

"This hearing of the Wizengamot Judiciary shall now come to order. Clerk, Please read the account."

"On or about October 31, 1981, a Mr. Harry James Potter was orphaned due to an attack on his home in Gordic's Hollow. According to an arrangement between his parents and the Petitioner, he was to come into her custody at that time. The Petitioner wishes to offer evidence to this regard. As of the current date, Harry James Potter has not been turned over to her custody."

The judge nodded. "State your case, Mrs. Black."

Cassiopeia stood up and moved to the testimony stand. "In 1978 my great uncle, Arcturus Black called a meeting of certain family members who were known with certainty not to affiliate with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and still in good standing with the family. At this meeting, was my mother, my grandmother, four of my cousins and James and Lily Potter. At this meeting Arcturus discussed his displeasure with the fact that our family name was dying out, and issued a decree using his Head of House status in the form of the _Patria Prosapia Imperium._ A week later I had met with my then future husband, and we signed ours forms, giving first priority to James and Lily Potter, and second priority to Ignatius Prewitt or his designee. At which time we then met with James and Lily Potter, who had given me first priority, including any husband I might subsequently marry. We both exchanged our forms, and in the presence of Alazander Dippet, Solicitor, we signed them and bound our magic to them in promise. "

"In May of 1981, after much discussion between James, Lily and I, I received a package from Solicitor Ursula Prewitt, containing legal documents sent from James Potter. Both Ursula Prewitt and Mr. Dippet vouched for the authenticity of these documents, and they were filed with Gringotts and the Ministry that same month. The documents were a full dispensation of what should happen, should James and Lily Potter die and I take custody of Harry James Potter, then aged 10 months. It became clear at that point again that both James and Lily wished me to be Harry's legal guardian, only passing the charge to one of the instructed persons on their will if there was great necessity."

"I was to have full and total custody of Harry immediately upon their deaths. This has yet to happen. James and Lily died on October 31st, and no move has been made to either disclose to me where Harry is being kept, or restore him to my custody, to which I am legally entitled and magically bound."

The court mumbled and buzzed. It was quite the hot topic about where Harry had gone since he destroyed Voldemort, and now here was a young woman with full legal claim as his guardian, set up before Harry was even born!

"You have brought proof of your testimony?" The Lead Judge leaned forward and looked Cassi in the eye.

"Yes, your Honors I have. Here is a verified copy of both my _Parentis _form and a verified copy of James and Lily's _Parentis _form. The originals are in a very secure location, heavily warded should any 'harm' happen to fall to the copies I present today." Cassiopeia handed the clerk her copies of both forms.

"Here is a verified copy of the Authorization for Care that James and Lily wrote in May of last year. Next is the Authorization Supplement, providing me with the means to maintain Harry's trust fund until he reaches adulthood. These have been filed properly with the Ministry, and are secured in their original form in various locations."

The clerk took all these into evidence, and took them up to the bench.

"Very well, Mrs. Black. We now have these in evidence. You also made claims that upon investigation you discovered something. Tell the court what you have filed in your complaint."

"According to various reports, the first person to arrive on the scene after the attack was Albus Dumbledore. According to any known knowledge, he and Alastor Moody called the other Aurors. I petition the court at this time to question those gentlemen as to the location of my ward." Cassiopeia stood tall, her blue-green eyes fixing the courtroom with an arctic glare.

"Your petition has been granted in open court. This bench calls forth Albus Dumbleore. "

Albus Dumbledore (etc, etc) came forth in a set of medium blue robes with bright yellow shooting stars crossing back and forth. His long white hair trailed behind him, his blue eyes twinkling and his face wore a soft smile. He had, only two days prior, cleared one of the last accused Death Eaters, Severus Snape, by claiming Severus had been a spy for him.

"You may begin, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"I have very little to say except that there is still a very real threat to Harry's life, and I have put him in the best place to protect him from any harm. He will be loved and cared for. His mother's sacrifice will help protect him."

Cassiopeia sniffed. "Unless "His Mother's Sacrafice" is some kind of spell nobody knows about, then that is a load of bollocks!"

Dumbledore shook his head and smiled sadly, as if Cassiopeia was an errant first year caught out of bounds after curfew rather than his opponent in a custody hearing.

"You are mistaken. A mother's love is the strongest magic there is, and nothing could protect Harry from danger more than the sacrifice Lily gave to protect his life."

Cassiopeia sniffed. "So what have you done, created a Gollum of Lily Potter to watch over the boy in the bottom of Gringotts?"

Several members of the Wizengamot laughed at the joke, but the Headmaster simply shook his head again.

"No. I have placed him where the protections his mother granted him will be strongest. The bonds between mother and son are great, even greater in this case. That will carry though the mother's blood."

Judge MacMillan, one of the Wizarding Welfare judges that had been called, felt his head spinning. "Please, Headmaster. Could you put that in the King's English?"

Dumbledore sighed. He had hoped to keep this a private matter. Most people would have been satisfied with 'he's in a safe place'. But nooo. This contemptible Black woman had ruined all his plans by demanding a public hearing to establish custody rights over Harry. He had thought, that even with the invocation of _Patria Prosapia Imperium _he could get the Ministry to see things his way. Oh well, maybe there was hope yet.

"He is with Lily's sister, in a small Muggle settlement in Surrey."

Cassiopeia raised a single, well groomed eyebrow in a way that channeled Slytherin, even though she had not spent even one second in their dorms. "Headmaster Dumbledore…" Cassiopeia began, her tone sickly sweet. "Why would wizards be living in a Muggle settlement in Surrey?"

Dumbledore flashed a winner's smile, even though he was soon about to become quite the loser. "Because Lily was muggleborn. Her family is all Muggle, and Harry's been placed with his aunt."

Now at this point, dear reader, it must be noted, that members of the audience closest to the testimony stands had started slowly inching away. Those most familiar with Cassiopiea Fitzgerald Black were desperately wishing they knew what matter of spell guarded the audience box and were praying to whatever diety they felt would hear their call fastest that the spell would hold. Even the judges looked a bit skittish. Only Dumbledore, and the witch in question seemed unaffected by the pending explosion. To her credit, however, Cassiopeia simply replied:

"Oh really now? Are you quite certain in your assessment?" Some individuals were oddly aware of the sensation of watching a spider luring prey into its web.

Dumbledore, for his part, simply nodded sagely. "Everybody knows that Lily Evans was a muggleborn. It is a matter of public record."

Cassiopeia smirked. "Ah. So how did it become a matter of public record, Headmaster. How does that occur?"

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. " Whenever a witch or wizard living in Britain turns up on the Hogwarts roll, which happens the summer they turn 10, a bit of magic checks for parental links among registered English witches and wizards. If none turn up, then the person is clearly a muggleborn and treated accordingly."

The judges were now curious. How come they had never heard of this before?

"So, Headmaster. How is this done? And what accounts for children whose parents might not be registered in Britain?"

"It is quite easy. Once the list is compiled, a search begins, matching names in the Ministry's list of registered witches and wizards, and the names are matched to our records of the birth certificates of the children. It's quite an ingenious set of spells, actually. Saves on lots of the paperwork the Headmaster and Headmistress used to have to do."

Cassiopeia sighed. "That is not an answer to my question, Dumbledore. You just said that you match names using the Ministry's list of witches and wizards. What of witches and wizards who are not registered with the British Ministry? Or if the birth certificate filed is not accurate?"

Dumbledore smiled. "In those cases we are able to manually adjust, although we have not had need to do that in over fifty years. There has never been a reason to question our system."

Cassiopeia didn't trust it. She had many other questions, but this was not the time for them. She knew from her frequent talks with Lily that she was born to a pureblood American witch, one who likely went to school after her own mother graduated. Her muggle adoptive parents would have assumed that just the most recent birth certificate had to be filed with the school. Also, since magical birth certificates appear normal to muggles, they would not have seen the seal indicating blood status.

She spoke. "So you are sure of your methods for determining who Lily Potter's blood relatives were?

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes. Lily's muggle relatives still lived near her childhood home, and that is where the boy is, safe and sound under the protections of his mother's sacrifice."

"LIES!" A voice shrieked from the galley. A formidable woman with fiery red hair and alabaster skin dropped her hood and made her presence known. Quite a few in the assembly went into varying degrees of shock, certain that the angry spirit of Lily Evans Potter was about to murder them all for what had happened to her. She continued her tirade, filling the air with magic around her, and drawing every eye in the room on her. Cassiopeia smirked. She knew writing Lily's birth mother about the proceedings was a good idea, but did not know that the woman would come all the way from America just to play witness.

"Madam! For what purpose have you interrupted our hearing?"

The woman stepped forward and took a deep breath. "I know for a fact that Lily Potter has no muggle relatives."

The court was curious. "And who are you, with this knowledge?"

The woman glared at Dumbledore, whose twinkling eyes had stopped their dance, and his face had set in a hard determined line. Still, aware that actions here could reach further than he'd like, he kept his peace, for the moment.

"I am Susannah Fells Carroway. I gave birth to my little fire Lily in 1960. I kept her for a couple of weeks until she could travel, and sent her to live with her father here in Britain. I was under the impression she was being raised by his family here until Lily wrote me and told me what happened. I had gotten a letter from her birth father indicating that his wife had died suddenly, but I thought that he would still raise Lily until she told me otherwise, that she had been adopted by muggles and thought she was a muggleborn until her adoptive parents died and she was given her original birth certificate."

The crowd gasped, and murmuring could be heard throughout the hall. The judge simply nodded and spoke again.

"Do you have legal documentation to support your story?"

"Certainly. I have a certified copy of her original birth certificate, as well as her hospital records and other paperwork."

The judge raised an eyebrow. "How did you manage to get hospital records?"

"I could conceal Lily, for the most part, and took her to get her proper inoculations at Our Lady of Virtue, a wizards hospital near my home. I didn't want her getting sick before she arrived here, and there were certain things I needed to do quickly before time expired."

"Alright." The judge looked at the paperwork for the moment before passing it along to his associates. "It looks to be in order, but that still does not explain your outburst."

"I was sent a letter informing me that you would be having a custody hearing regarding my grandson, Harry James Potter. I wanted to be here in case something happened. I would have remained content to stay at home, but my husband insisted that I come, since I never got to visit Lily in person. And then this wizard here gets up and insults my entire family by indicating that there was no reason to think that Lily was anything but a muggleborn."

The judges nodded. "Would you mind taking a few tests, so that we can properly verify your story? For our records, so that we can have a proper accounting of Harry's lineage?"

"Of course. My side of the family is dead now anyway. I'm the last of the Fells. I'm sure we can hash the rest out later."

The lead judge concurred. "Any other evidence you wish to present, Mrs. Carroway?"

Susannah sighed. "Not at this time. Lily's father was an only child and apparently died in the mid 1970s. She should have no living British blood relatives."

"Ah. Thank you Mrs. Carroway. This has been most enlightening."

Dumbledore, for his part, just stood stock still, trying to calm the anger that had gotten him in trouble when his hair was still blond and he had a spring in his step. He didn't have a leg to stand on! Lily was a pureblood meaning that the 'relatives' he had left Harry with weren't related to the boy at all! NO! He must not let Harry fall into the hands of such a traditional pureblood family! It would be disastrous! He still had one more card he could play…

"Your honor, if I may…" Dumbledore began. "I still do not think that placement with a family with so many ties to Voldemort is wise."

Cassiopeia sniffed. "You have NO RIGHT to say such things! The only two people still alive who have any type of affiliation with that man are Walla and Bellatrix. Bellatrix has already been questioned by this body, and is under surveillance. Walburga never leaves her house. All of the rest have been proven innocent in this very courtroom! Besides, was He-who-must-not-be-named not just vanquished back in November?"

Albus saw a way to counter. "Yes, and his followers will seek retribution if Harry were to remain in the wizarding world."

Cassiopeia whirled around. "YOU don't trust my ability to keep Harry safe. And haven't all the actual Death Eaters been put in jail already? Is there not more harm in keeping Harry from his natural heritage? Having him grow up ignorant to the world he saved? With MUGGLES who are not even related to him?"

Albus Dumbledore opened his mouth to counter this fiery woman, but the banging of a gavel interrupted him before he even began.

"Whatever reasons you may have, Albus, they matter not. Through magic older than the Statute of Secrecy Cassiopeia is Harry's rightful guardian. I hesitate to be the one who violates that decree. It is so ordered that Harry James Potter will be retrieved from whatever hole you have placed him in, Albus, and taken to St. Mungos where Cassiopeia Luna Fitzgerald Black will take and retain custody of him until such time as he is a legal adult or this body finds her unfit or unable to raise him. So Mote it Be!"

The Lead Judge moved to slam his gavel down when a second judge stayed his hand.

"Also, by Order and Decree of this court, said Harry James Potter will be returned to the rightful legal custody of the aforementioned Mrs. Black within 24 hours of this hearing. Two Aurors of the court's choosing will accompany Albus Dumbledore from the current time until custody has been exchanged at St. Mungos Hospital. Should Albus Dumbledore attempt in any way to evade justice, or disobey any part of this order, he shall cede any and all rights granted to him by this body and any other Wizarding body. He will become a fugitive from justice and anybody aiding him in the prolonged withholding of Harry James Potter from his rightful guardians will be subject to Azkaban."

"Furthermore, we reserve the right to put to an inquiry any information that might come out about why Harry was placed with muggles rather than having proper placement procedure followed, as well as his treatment by said muggles during his time with them. So Mote It Be!"

The Lead Judge nodded, and banged his gavel. "Headmaster, you are on the clock. You have twenty-four hours to retrieve Mr. Potter and take him to St. Mungos. Auror Bones and Auror Davies, you will accompany the Headmaster while this matter is being settled. Court Adjuourned!"

There was a great murmuring as Cassiopeia swept out, only giving the judges a curt nod and not even looking in Dumbledore's direction. It would not do to dawdle.

Dumbledore sighed. He had greatly misjudged the Court. He had also greatly misjudged James and Lily. The two golden Gryffindors actually planning out what would happen after they died did not seem like the two children he had known. And Lily a pureblood! He would certainly have to be careful now. At least the issue of Sirius had not come up. The Black family was powerful enough at it was without him stepping in as a legitimate heir to the direct line.

Dumbledore looked at the two Aurors who were assigned to him. He would have preferred to pick his own, select his Order members and perhaps delay and stall. That option would have been available had that second judge not spoken. Maybe he could still shake them.

There was no way that any of his plans would work if such a prejudiced pureblood family raised Harry. Despite the failings of certain members, the Blacks were still well connected politically, well respected by the Wizengamot, extremely wealthy… and they were taught from an early age that no matter what issues you have with family members you stick together against those who would oppose you. If they were still considered family, you stuck by them no matter what. Not to mention, that with only one notable exception the whole lot of them had been sorted Slytherin since the early 1700s.

Dumbledore sighed. There had to be a way. He would come up with it! 'Live to fight another day.' He thought to himself. Things WOULD go his way… they WOULD!

* * *

February 19

The nursery at St. Mungos was, but for the fact that it was in a hospital, a pretty cheerful place. During the day, charmed butterflies floated around the children who were bed ridden, and bubbles that exploded in different colors when caught helped keep the day room lively. Even charmed shooting stars floated overhead at night, to the delight of patients and staff. The walls were sterile, but not boring, in a light pastel blue with cream colored trimmings. Most patients shared a room with other babies, for economy of space and time. However, certain babies earned a status that warranted having a private room.

Healer Jones looked at the small baby. At 19 months he should have been bigger, but he looked underweight and underfed. His coloring was pale, and strangely enough, dark shadows could be seen around his eyes. Both were signs of a nutrition deficiency, highly dangerous at this age, when so many brain developments were occurring. She knew that young Mr. Potter had been keeping up his weight before his parents went into hiding, so the only solution was that wherever he had been since November 1st was to blame. The boy was also slightly feverish and cried out pitifully. The boy had arrived clean and with a fresh change of diaper, but without any toys or belongings to speak of except a dirty, threadbare blanket and was dressed in dingy summer baby clothes rather than a winter romper. He had appeared healthy and Albus seemingly wanted to just hand the baby over to Cassiopeia. But she insisted that the Healers look Harry over, and the first thing they discovered was a glamour charm designed to wear off in three months, where Harry's feverish condition would have remained unnoticed and unchecked until just before the check with Family Services.

"I'm just glad that Albus finally brought him here in any case." Healer Jones murmured as she fussed over the baby. The matter had been hushed up quickly, but some people were aware that Dumbledore had dragged his feet as much as possible. If it were not for Judge Parkinson, one of the Children's Welfare judges that had sat on the panel at the hearing, Dumbledore might still be hiding Harry wherever he had put the baby. After twenty-four, and then fourty-eight and then even more time went by and no move had been made by Dumbledore to return Harry Potter to his rightful guardian, she threatened him with calling an immediate Wizengamot session to determine his fitness for positions of power. He complied with the order shortly thereafter. Nobody asked why he had blue skin.

Healer Jones handed the boy a bottle laced with a nutrition potion. He took it appreciatively and drank the contents in record time. Healer Jones continued her heavy diagnostic while she waited for Cassiopeia to return. Soon the intimidating figure of Cassiopeia Black strode into the private room at St. Mungos, followed by woman carrying a three-year-old blonde girl.

"How is he?" Cassi asked the nurse.

"A little underweight, slightly feverish. He sounds as if he's been left to cry himself to sleep once too often for my liking. I for one am glad that you have custody of him. I can't say for certain what would have been left of the boy had he lived with them in his formative years."

Cassi shook her head. "Well he will get the best care now. Can we take him?"

Healer Jones nodded. There was nothing wrong with the boy that a competent mother could not handle. "I'd keep him on a nutrient potion three times a week, to make up for the meals he's apparently missed. Also keep him warm and comforted. He's been through a trauma. Most convention says he won't remember, but I would retain a therapist for him just in case he does. Your family retains a private Healer, correct?"

Cassiopeia tilted her head up just slightly. "Yes. She takes care of my Dru, and she'll take care of Harry as well. Why?"

"The scar on his forehead. It should have made progress in healing by now, and it hasn't. It might be infected or something. Apply a balm infused with lavender oil and eucalyptus. If it still looks angry and inflamed in a week call your healer. I don't want to go so far as to say that it's a curse scar but… if it is then action needs to be taken before he's too old and it becomes harder to remove."

Cassi nodded. "Indeed. I am no expert on curse scars, having skipped out on taking _After the Curse III _for the course _Arcane Potions and Ancient Elixirs. _Perhaps I should consult somebody who is an expert on injuries related to such magic."

Healer Jones blinked for a moment, not knowing what Cassi was talking about, until she remembered the girl grew up in the States and thus attended a different school from Hogwarts. "They have an extensive department in the Rhinegold Hospital for just that. I don't know anybody I could recommend here that would be willing to do whatever is necessary to cure the curse, if it is indeed still embedded in him."

Cassi smiled. "Thank you for that knowledge. I'm sure that if the need arises, we can find a competent healer at Rhinegold. Thank you for your time, Healer Jones."

"It is a pleasure Madame Black. I am sure that everybody is glad to see our little hero being raised by a proper wizard family rather than detestable muggles."

Cassi sniffed. "Thank my dear great-Uncle. Without his imput the Potters would have left the decision up to Dumbledore, and we ALL see how well that turned out." Cassi scooped up Harry and smiled once again.

"Welcome to the family, Harry!"


	5. Setting The Stage

A/N

Thanks for the reviews and additions to story alerts and what not. I am glad that you all are enjoying my little story. This chapter is where I try and.. well you'll see. After this Harry goes to Hogwarts, so if you want to have a say in anything about his first few months, now is the time to do it. As always, I'm not JK, I looked up the Pagan calendar, figuring that true purebloods would keep it than the Christian calendar, since the Pagan calendar is older. Mabon is Fall Equinox, and Samhain is Haloween, JSYK. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, and write a review if you feel inclined. This was another challenging chapter to write, as a snapshot to how Harry was raised. I hope I've done it justice.

* * *

June 15, 1989

Eight-year-old Harry James Potter sat, bored to tears, in the nursery at his home, Ridgemoor. The part he was sitting in now had been converted to a small classroom, with desks and a blackboard where he learned all that could be taught by law before entering Hogwarts. He also learned the things he would need to know as a pureblood elite. The Governess had drilled him for hours on proper etiquette and certain procedures crucial to his upbringing. At the time, Harry had wanted to roll his eyes and find something more interesting to do, but Aunt Cassi insisted that these lessons were important.

"POTTER!" Harry snapped back to attention, where his ancient Governess and tutor stood.

"Back STRAIGHT! How do you expect anybody to take you seriously as the last Potter if you refuse to follow the basic tenants of pureblood etiquette?"

Harry kept silent, knowing a trick question when he saw one, but straightened his back and placed his hands on his lap like he had been drilled. He chanced a glance at his sister, Drusilla. Of course her back was straight and her eyes attentive as the younger children recited their lessons. She was eleven now, and leaving for Hogwarts in the fall. Then he would be the oldest around for two years, left to make all the appearances and follow Aunt Cassi and Uncle Ori around at whatever society events they had to attend. There were two more events that Drusilla had to attend, and for that Harry was slightly jealous. She would be at his birthday celebration at the end of July, and a celebration sending the latest off to Hogwarts.

Meanwhile, he still had two years of tutoring before he would be going off to Hogwarts. He was studying all the subjects not requiring a wand: Potions, Magical Theory, Basic Runes, Pureblood Etiquette and History. He was also studying Latin, French and Linguistics, Arts, and Math, since those were universal, and understanding the language of spells helped a person to understand what the spell was supposed to do. And also, because his Aunt Cassi did not have any faith in Hogwarts to teach him the proper subjects he would need to know as a pureblood, he would be taking extra lessons with a tutor.

Aunt Cassi had explained that the ministry had classified certain types of magic 'dark' and had banned their teaching and use. She further explained that fools ran the current Ministry. Harry mused on that fateful conversation.

*flashback

"Why are we taking extra lessons once we get to Hogwarts?" Harry had asked.

He had been sitting in the small study, adjacent to the nursery while the younger children played and he and Dru studied. Dru had whined about the amount of work she had to do to get ready to leave for Hogwarts the following fall, and Aunt Cassi had responded by telling her that there would be even more work than that when she was taking her lessons AND keeping up her grades at Hogwarts.

"The Ministry is full of fools, Harry. They ban magic, labeling it Dark, when there is no such thing. They look at the Ancient Arts, the Familial Arts, and the Elemental Arts as dark. Anything stronger than a _Stupefy _is dark. Everything has to be easy enough for the mudbloods to understand. The British Ministry fails to see that if they started everybody off earlier… Just know that there are certain rituals involved with joining pureblood society, and certain spells available only to those with certain family backgrounds. These are things banned from teaching at Hogwarts, mainly because you have to HAVE a magical family background just to learn them! Your education will not be shortchanged."

*end flashback

Harry smirked at the memory. Because he was a Potter as well he would be able to learn special magic just for him!

"Something entertaining, Mr. Potter?" the Governess queried

"No, Madam. I was just recalling a lesson I learned about ancient magic, and how fortunate I am to be a pureblood."

The Governess nodded. "Fortunate indeed. So I take it you are ready for your duties come July 31st?"

Harry fought the urge to swallow. He would have to play host to all the other children his age. Not just host, but a proper pureblood host, which involved all sorts of the right words, proper hand gestures, and keeping his own if the discussion turned to politics. Since Draco Malfoy was among the invitees, it probably would.

"Yes Madam. I look forward to showcasing my talents, and your talents as an instructor, among my peers."

The Governess smiled. The boy was already learning how to phrase his sentences properly in order to create the best effect. "Good. All are dismissed. Harry, you stay behind. Drusilla, return in an hour for your lesson."

Everybody else got up and left, Dru giving her little 'brother' a quck wink before sliding off to do something likely very girly. Soon it was only Harry and his Governess left.

"Have you been practicing your exercises?"

"Yes, Madam." Harry responded.

"Well, then, lets just see how good you've gotten! _Legilimens!" _

* * *

July 31

Harry stood in the dressing closet of his room, looking at himself. He wore a brand new collarless cream shirt underneath a lightweight set of dark blue robes. His pants, well tailored, were also dark blue, and his summer boots gleamed under the house elf's care. His hair had been tamed with a heavy dose of gel, even though he still kept a fringe over his faded scar. Only halfway through the treatments on his eyes, he wore a pair of glasses with thin silver frames. His robe clasp was a solid silver representation of the Potter Family Seal. Since he had no family ring to wear, it was absent from his left hand.

Satisfied with his appearance, he stepped out into his main bedroom. It was done up in varying shades of blue. The walls were a peacock blue, with cream and silver details. His bed was a giant four poster bed with a heavy cream canopy. Next to it was a nightstand in the same heavy mahogany. He also had a small desk to work at in case he needed time away from his family, or to work in utter silence. Next to the desk was a small bookshelf with three shelves. Here were his favorite books and a few keepsakes from his travels with his family. Here also sat a stuffed buck his aunt had told him was something he had kept since he was a baby. The tag on it said "Prongs" and on the reverse of the tag was the inscription "My Secrets Within." Harry had no idea what that meant, but the stuffed buck was surprisingly comforting.

The clock on his desk chimed, and he realized he needed to be downstairs to prepare for his first guests. The family had a small breakfast together, but this was the larger celebration. Harry walked down the two flights of stairs, to be greeted by his family.

Drusilla flashed a bright smile at him, one of the few times she let herself show emotions. She had bright blonde hair and striking blue eyes. She was willowy, but displaying a hint that she would be as tall as her mother when she got older. She was wearing dark green summer dress robes, and proudly displayed the combined crests of the Black and Fitzgerald family on a pendant on her neck. It would be one of the last times she would be able to wear it so openly, as the display of family heirlooms marking one as pureblood nobility were forbidden at Hogwarts.

The others would remain in the nursery, not quite old enough to enjoy the political game that was his 'official' birthday celebration. The group moved into the elaborate ballroom, where lesser pureblood families had already started to gather.

The ballroom was round, and the walls filled with charmed windows and mirrors. It gave the room the effect of glowing from within. The floors were white marble, with green marble design that looked Celtic in origin. Large chandeliers hung overhead, with charmed candles and a domed ceiling with a fresco painting of beautiful magical creatures dancing. Only part of the ballroom was visible, as a sort of entrance way. A curtain that would be removed when the dinner officially started partitioned the room itself. Notts, Dolohovs, Yaxleys, Prewitts, Gamps and any number of other pureblood families were all milling around, munching on tapas and sipping water or champagne. They all turned when the gong sounded, announcing the Honored Guests arrival. Even though they were in the Ridgemoor Ballroom it was still tradition.

"Announcing the honored guest! Lord Harry James Potter. Lord Orion Aries Black, Lady Cassiopeia Luna Fitzgerald Black and Lady Drusilla Maia Black." Shouted one of the doormen, and Harry strode proudly in, acknowledging the entire room at once. They quickly moved to the observation platform, where they would sit and wait for the other noble pureblood families to arrive. Then the festivities would officially begin.

First, of course, were the Greengrasses. "Presenting, Lord Alexander Greengrass the Fourth, Lady Victoria Rosier Greengrass, Lady Daphne Rhea Greengrass and Lady Astoria Dione Greengrass." The crowd politely clapped and Harry nodded once. Uncle Ori looked on in approval. He knew that Daphne was Harry's closest friend among the nobility.

"Presenting Lord Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, Countess Narcissa Black Malfoy and Heir Draco Lucius Malfoy." Again Harry executed a polite tilting of the head for his cousin. Draco was pompous and terribly spoiled but was an overall good friend to have around.

"Presenting Lady Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Lord Tristan Telesto Lestrange, Lady Titania Ursa Lestrange and Lady Miranda Eris Lestrange." There was polite clapping, and Harry nodded politely again. There was a story Daphne had neglected to tell him.

"Presenting Barone Dominic Zabini the Fifth, Baronessa Aurora Zabini, and Barone Blaise Lombard Zabini"

The others trickled in by a similar fashion, and soon the main festivities were underway. This was an important birthday for Harry. It was a signal to pureblood society that he would soon begin his studies into their way of life. As he had only completed basic training, he was only obligated to a few tasks tonight. The first one was now. Harry walked over to the

"Greetings to all of my honored guests. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to my family's home." Polite applause. "As you are well aware, today marks the day that I turn nine years of age, a time that will forever mark my life. It is now that I will begin the studies that will lead me into adulthood." More applause.

"Thank you all for attending the celebration of this milestone. Welcome to the feast." Harry nodded, and the curtain was drawn back, revealing over a dozen round tables surrounded by chairs. Enchanted place cards hovered above the cream linen covered tables, and a more prominent head table sat at the top of the ballroom. The closer you were to the head table, the more important you were to the family, and to society in general. It stood as no surprise then, that the Zabinis and the Greengrasses occupied the closest tables. Next was the combined table of Malfoy and Lestrange, nearby was the Nott table, shared with the representatives from the Davies family. Seated at the head table with Harry was his adoptive family, plus his cousin Ursula and other important relatives. Here was where the second most important aspect of his training came into play. Harry patiently waited for everybody to settle around his or her places.

"May you all enjoy many fortunes, and may Merlin and Morgana shine upon us all." Harry then clapped once, and house elves appeared, starting to serve the first course.

Harry sat down, the hardest two tasks for this event behind him. Orion smiled at him, proud of the young boy, and Cassiopeia practically beamed with enthusiasm. Even the older members of the Black family were pleased, including Arcturus. The feasting began in earnest, but nobody noticed the slightly crestfallen look Harry had on his face, there for a brief flicker, before leaving again.

* * *

Elsewhere.

Neville sighed. It was the best turnout he could hope for, under the circumstances. Soon the official part would be over, and all would be better. If it was not for Augusta Longbottom's connections to older pureblood families the turnout might have been nonexistent. There were few children his age around, and most of his family was still convinced that he was a squib, or at least very weak. He had passed the test, however, and had earned his first birthday rite. He swallowed the lump of fear that threatened to close his throat, and walked out to the elaborate garden of the Longbottom Manor. There would be no extra fanfare, no need to draw things out longer than necessary.

Neville swallowed again, and hoped that he remembered the speeches he was suppose to give. He looked out over the small crowd. They were mostly Augusta's Wizengamot fellows, but also a few others. Minerva McGonagall was there, as well as Susan and Amelia Bones, the Boots, the Lovegoods, and a handful of other families Augusta Longbottom was still friendly with. All in all, there were only three children present close to his age, two of them girls. Oh well. He had come this far.

"Greetings." Neville spoke. The handful of guests turned, polite. "Welcome to my family home, honored guests. Today marks the day I turn nine years of age. It marks a turning point in my life. Today is the point when I will begin the studies that will lead me into adulthood." Neville recited. He almost forgot a few words, but by locking into the friendly eyes of Juliet Lovegood he was relaxed once more.

"Thank you for attending and celebrating this milestone with my family. I now invite you to the celebration in earnest." Neville finished, and clapped his hands once, summoning the house elves. It was tradition that food be served, and that the child in question be the one to summon the elves. It was a sign that the children were now expected to begin taking dominion over the house and the staff. Although the elves were on loan for the most part, they obeyed Neville.

Neville sighed as the two girls migrated towards one another and Terry Boot pulled out a book from nowhere and sat on a bench reading. He slid over to where the girls were talking. At least them he could try and engage in some conversation. He just wished that there were a boy his age he could get along with.

His grandmother nodded in approval. At least he wasn't hiding in the bushes like usual. This matter was painful for the boy, but it was pureblood tradition. Augusta was very much aware that there was another party going on for the same day. She just could not see herself mixing with the likes of Notts and such just to rub elbows with Cassiopeia Black and her granddaughter's charge Harry Potter. Nope. This simplified ceremony should be enough, and hopefully the Potter boy and Neville could do their second ceremony together. She just couldn't deny Neville the ability to merge into pureblood society properly, even if he had the misfortune of being born on the same day as such a well-connected boy.

She looked out of the corner of her eye again, and saw Neville hovering next to the two girls. It was… awkward looking. For the sake of the Longbottom legacy, which rested on young Neville's shoulders, Augusta hoped that his shy ways could be cured at Hogwarts.

* * *

The evening had progressed, and now his friends sat in a cluster, apart from the adults who were mingling and gossiping. Part of this was something else he was expected to do: hold court. It wasn't an official part of anything, but it went a long way to be able to lead a lengthy discussion as the primary speaker. Harry wasn't much one for politics, preferring to discuss Quiddich or Magical Theory, but politics was the common thread around these parts.

"Draco, how are things going for your father these days?" Harry opened.

Draco smirked. His father was the highest ranked parent here, politically. Sure, others had greater influence in some circles, but it was still a testament of Harry's ability that he opened and deferred to Malfoy so quickly. Draco should know, he was trained by the best.

"Father is doing well. He is quite close to reclaiming the old family standing. His influence with the new Minister of Magic is important in that goal. He's even been able to 'help' lost loved ones." Draco sent a meaningful glance to the Lestrange twins, who were just a few days younger than Harry.

"Well, that's splendid. It is indeed wonderful that the injustice has been corrected." Harry directed his response to the twins, to flashed twin smiles at him. "Thank You, Harry." The twins spoke simultaneously.

Other things were discussed. There was talk that the disowned Andromeda Black Tonks and her daughter might be reclaimed, since the last of the opposition to that decree was dead. There would be conditions, of course. Speculation bounded about the group that it was because the daughter Nymphandora or something like that, was a metamorphmagus and no Black alive could recall another one in the family. Those types of abilities didn't just 'pop' out of nowhere. Others were convinced it was because Ted Tonks was a halfblood, not a mudblood like Druella accused.

The discussion continued for quite a while, touching on the subject of mudbloods in general, but none of them had ever seen one in person, so could only vouch for what their parents said.

"Your Aunt Cassi was so lucky, Harry! She got to go to school with only other purebloods!" Tracey Davies gushed.

"My aunt counts herself lucky for that. Too bad that Dru didn't get the chance to go." Harry commented. "Of course it is my duty as the last British Potter to attend Hogwarts, but Dru was under no such obligation."

Draco snorted. "OF COURSE Drusilla has an obligation to go to Hogwarts. The Black family was once revered among all purebloods. It's why Uncle Arcturus even stepped in. He doesn't want the name Black to pass through the lips of witches and wizards as a mere afterthought."

Harry nodded. "That's true. He certainly doesn't want anybody going about 'I wonder what happened to the House of Black? It's bad enough we've all but lost another of the Houses."

That brought out a whole new rousing debate. The question being, what to do about the Old Houses that had seemingly dried up?

"Well, if there are no more direct descendants the indirect ones should be able to lay a claim. " Daphne surmised. Some nodded, others shook their heads.

"If we open it up like that, all sorts of people would try and claim that they're a part of this Old House or that one. Imagine a bunch of blood traitors like the Weasleys claiming to be one of the O'Shennehans or the Cielfeus!" Theodore Nott shook his head.

Draco shuddered as well. "Now THAT"S a nightmare."

"Why not come up with a more advanced way to read a person's family tree?" Harry suggested. "Establish a 'fee' and put the goblins in charge of it. That way the others can't accuse us of being bias, and we can still keep every random person from being able to take it. And even then, only a person with a certain percentage success rate can claim the family. "

Draco raised an eyebrow. "And how would that help?"

Harry shrugged. "If there's a significant enough fee, certain families will find it cost prohibitive. Ensuring that those not already among the elite remain that way. "

Draco smirked. "So by only keeping the true purebloods in the loop, families like those who came to your birthday, in on the fact that the test is even available, and making it hard for paupers like the Weasleys to take the test even if they know about it."

Harry nodded. "That would be the premise. It would be a way to revive the Old Houses and establish stability among those of us who still exist."

Heads bobbed in agreement.

"There definitely needs to be more stability among the pureblood elite." Daphne sighed. "It's scandalous how divided the purebloods are, all because of mudbloods and half-breeds."

There was lots of murmuring and shaking of heads. "There's no two ways about it, the last sixty years have been greatly harmful to the pureblood section of our society, elites or not. " Harry spoke.

Draco inclined his head. "And how would you say we recover, how?"

Harry smiled. "Great Aunt Violetta went to America and married an American pureblood. Where is it written in the laws of our society that we must marry a British pureblood that went to Hogwarts? We've become so blind that we remain on this dim island, resigned to associating with people who should be beneath our notice!"

Draco was shocked. Everybody was speechless.

"What? Not one of you has ever thought that you might go off to Hogwarts and end up snogging your third cousin by mistake?" Harry laughed.

The others shuddered, knowing how much of a reality that actually was.

Soon the gathering began to break up, and Harry made plans with Daphne, Blaise, Theo and Tracey to meet up in Diagon Alley while they were there. There was, after all, shopping to be done for the Lestranges' ceremony and the annual 'Off To Hogwarts' party in August. Harry said goodbye to his close friends first, and then committed his final act as host, wishing everybody a safe trip home as they walked off to various apparition points. One everybody had gone Orion walked up to Harry and smiled.

"That was a real good job you did tonight, Harry. That was a great success!" Orion gave Harry a genuine smile.

"Thanks Uncle Ori." Harry smiled.

* * *

Two weeks later found Harry, Daphne, Tracey, Blaise and Theo were all sitting around an outside bench at Caroline's Custardy Treats eating ice cream with chunks of warm brownies spotted through them. The day was sunny and bright, but not too hot.

"So do you think we'll all end up in the same house?" Daphne watched as Hogwarts students dashed to and fro, picking out their high quality school supplies.

The group was in a nicer area of Diagon Alley than the rest. This area housed high-end retail shoppes, cafes, full restaurants, theaters and other various sundries to keep the pureblood elite happy and content. The area was less cluttered, the avenues were wide and tree lined, and very few of the shoppes actually bothered to label the prices on their merchandise. If you needed to ask the price you didn't need to shop there, was the assumption. Caroline's Custardy Treats sat at the edge of a rather nice and well kept park, where sprites of various colors could be seen floating, and a multicolored fountain sat in the center.

It was also the perfect area for Harry to sit about in the broad daylight, without a care in the world. Common witches and wizards, the type to faun over Harry and send him fan mail laced with love potions and the like, were unwilling to make the trip this far into the Hills. If they did they would be immediately spotted as being out of place. Common witches and wizards would stand out like a sore thumb, and be noticed by the Governess before they even got to Harry. The elite purebloods of society and their circle, however, were used to Harry by now and had no inclination to follow him around like a paparazzo following a starlet out of a nightclub. Thus, this is where Harry came when he left Rigdemoor.

His uncle had also done a great service by banning any mention of Harry unless he approved of it first. Thus there were no fairy tales about the 'boy-who-lived' vanquishing the Dark Lord, and mentions of the night in general were limited to the simple statement that the Dark Lord had entered the Potter's home, attempted to kill Harry after murdering his parents, and had the curse rebound onto him instead. No speculation, no rumors, no theories about how or why it happened. So although most witches and wizards knew about the events, Orion's actions successfully ensured that frivolous profiteers spreading lies and trying to create a 'legendary hero' out of his ward were thwarted. Still, however, individual witches and wizards tried to get a glimpse of the 'boy-who-lived', and since they could not legally get a restraining order against everybody, Harry preferred sticking to the areas where attacks of fans and curios onlookers were less likely to occur.

"Honestly, Daph. We've got two years to think about that sort of thing" Blaise was dragging his spoon through a minty ice cream. "We'll all be in Slytherin anyway. Got no choice. That's how the family turns out."

Harry sighed. His own cherry-vanilla ice cream a distant memory. "I don't quite know what house my REAL parents were in…" Harry paused. "What if the way we get sorted has to do with what house our parents went in?"

Tracey shook her head, with her dark curls bouncing everywhere. "I don't think that's how it works. There have been reported cases where siblings, even twins, end up in different houses. I think it's more because your parents raise you that you end up in their house. It must have something to do with you, as well."

The others shrugged. Theo spoke up. "I for one hope to be in Slytherin. It's the only place a Nott can really BE." The group nodded, smiling.

Harry smiled as well. "Well so long as we stay friends it will be alright. I wonder if I'll be in the same house as Dru?"

Daphne laughed. "Let Dru get SORTED first, Harry!"

They all had a chuckle at that, and then Harry looked over to Daphne and gave her a winning smile.

"So how's robe shopping going?"

Daphne sighed. "Pretty well. Mother insists that we look at fall robes as well, for Mabon and Samhain. I know that Astoria is still too young to do the rites of Samhain, seeing as this one will be my first. She wants me to be dressed appropriately for the ceremonies. You?"

Harry smirked. "Done two weeks ago. I can't believe we're old enough for our first Samhain Rites! It's pretty spectacular!"

Theo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, mate, it's spectacular. But these are the simple rights. Just wait until we turn 15."

They all murmured in agreement. "You know what?" Blaise began. "I heard that before, Hogwarts staff used to lead the entire school in the Samhain Rite. All that changed after Headmaster Black left the post. Now they don't even mark the occasion! It's given the 'muggle' name: Halloween!"

The others shook their heads sadly. Harry spoke up. "I heard that also, it wasn't September 1st that marked you, but whether or not you had gone through the Mabon twice before coming to school. That meant that a person be born after September 1st, and as long as the turned eleven before Mabon they could go."

This inspired a debate about why Hogwarts had changed so much, and soon the adults were coming back to gather their charges and finish their errands. Soon it was Harry and Daphne left, waiting for her mother to return from her apothecary run, and Harry smiled.

"Before, when you were talking about houses, do you think we'll be in the same house?" Harry asked.

"Sure we will. But if we won't we have to promise to be friends with each other anyway."

Harry paused. "Even if I end up in the wrong house?"

Daphne nodded. "Even if you end up in the wrong house. You're my best friend, Harry. Nothing can change that!" Daphne gave Harry a hug just as her mother came up to gather her. Harry saw her and greeted in the proper way.

"Greetings Lady Greengrass. It is a pleasure to see you again." Harry bowed slightly.

"Greetings Lord Potter. It is a pleasure to see you as well. I hope that you enjoyed the company of my daughter." Daphne's mom bowed and flashed a polite smile.

"Most certainly, Madame, I did. She is a good friend and I enjoy her conversation". Harry returned.

Victoria Greengrass broke out into a genuine smile. "Quite good, Harry!"

Harry straightened up and smiled. "I do my best."

The group laughed at that, and Harry turned back to Daphne, smiling from ear to ear.

"See you on the 20th for the "Back to Hogwarts" party, Daph!" Harry grinned.

"Sure thing, Potter!" Daphne smiled back. "And don't forget your promise!"

Harry chuckled. "Best friends stick together."

Daphne laughed. "Yes, yes they do! We'll be fine though, unless you do something royally awkward right before we get sorted."

Harry was suddenly nervous, but smiled anyway. "Don't worry. If I don't end up in the best house at Hogwarts, I'll just create my own!"

Daphne and her mother laughed. "See ya around, Harry!" She waved as her mother slowly took her away, probably to a robe shop.

"Bye!" Harry smiled, and went to find his Governess. After all, he would need another new outfit if he wanted to go to the Mabon rites at the Greengrass Manor.

* * *

September 10th

Dragon Falls, unknown.

Harry laughed out loud as his twin cousins, Sabrina and Serena climbed back up the enchanted water slide and made preparations to slide back down. The twins, with strawberry blonde hair and aquamarine eyes, were almost like sisters to him. They were the same age, if older by a few months. He, at nine, didn't question it, but had the promise from his grandmother that all would be explained to him 'when the time was right'.

Grandma and Pop Carroway were entertaining, to say the least. Harry definitely enjoyed the time he got to spend in America with his mother's family. Things were always less formal than with the Blacks. This time he was here because his cousins were on break from Rothschild Academy. His grandmother had sent him a letter, explaining her absence from his birthday ceremony in July, and extending the invitation to celebrate turning nine like a proper American pureblood.

Harry laughed as he reached the splash zone. This wizarding adventure park they had come to was possibly, the best thing ever. Roller coasters, enchanted mazes, water rides, all sorts of horribly good junk food and all sorts of things to keep him happily entertained. Of course, the best part was that he got to spend quality time with his mother's family.

He enjoyed relaxing at the large sprawling country home his grandmother owned as well. They also owned a large Victorian in a quaint Virginia town, the kind of town that was so small the neighbors thought they knew everything about everybody. Harry enjoyed that place just as much, if only because after spending so much time in such big houses, the Victorian felt small and homey. He wouldn't trade Ridgemoor for anything in the world, but he enjoyed when his grandmother turned homey homemaker when they stayed in the Victorian.

It was also nice to Harry to be around privileged purebloods who knew that they were privileged but didn't talk about it all the time. Of course there were parties and events where American purebloods gathered, talking about how their children were doing in Rothschild and Burundy, speculating on who would make a match of it, and contemplating wizarding politics both at home and abroad.

Harry thought that because America was all about freedom and equality, the purebloods here would be mingling and intergrated with mudbloods, but that was not the case, as he found out during his first extended visit. Because there was so much freedom, and an emphasis on freedom of association, it was easier for schools to become private and set up applications based on 'legacy', which was basically blood status. He also noticed the sneaky way American purebloods handled themselves around the 'others.' You would never find a pureblood in polite society who called a mudbood that to his face. Overall, every time he came to America to visit his mother's family it was an enlightening experience.

"Come ON Harry!" Serena was shouting.

Harry awoke from his deep thoughts in the middle of the tide pool and looked at the twins. He wished they would go to Hogwarts, but Rothschild was a better education for them. Maybe they could come for a year on exchange… Harry shook his head again and waded over to where his cousins were standing.

"We wanna go ride the _Fiends Fire. _Come on Harry it'll be fun!" Sabrina latched on to his other arm.

Harry grinned. Of course it would be fun. They would ride roller coasters into the night, watch some wizardly fireworks, and then there would be a picnic tomorrow, a special summer's end picnic since Rothschild and Burundy were both on break. Then next week Harry would be back in England finishing his study on what to do for his first Mabon rite, and his cousins would be back in school, getting ahead of him. All in all, it was a good life.

The trio climbed into the flame colored carriage, powered by such a combination of magic as he didn't fully understand yet, and soon they were off, flying fast and free, screams of delight filling the afternoon sky.

* * *

A/N. updated to correct for misspelled last names. Oh, and I made Tracey Davies a pureblood. To compensate, somebody who is likely a pureblood will become a half-blood. Happy Reviewing! Don't forget the poll!


	6. Setting The Mood

A/N I know I promised that Harry would be going to Hogwarts this chapter, but I realized I needed to develop his character a little bit before sending him off. Three things to remember: Harry grew up around magic all his life, so he's already going to be a different person than canon. Harry grew up with a family that makes no distinction between light and dark magic, nor do they shield their children the way the Weasley's do, pretending that certain things are not a part of their recent history. Lastly, Harry has been reading and learning magical theory and related subjects since he was six. It's the balancing test I've come up with. The way I see it, most parents probably taught their children some type of magical background information, at least the traditional purebloods would have. Even without being able to have a wand until they turned eleven they had access to books and theory.

So what do you get when you raise a child, teaching them magical theory, and also not distinguishing between Light and Dark spells except to tell them which ones the Ministry disapproves of?

This chapter, I hope.

Side Note: It also explains a lot about Canon-Draco, who was on the same level in wandwork, but was ahead when it came to Potions.

I am not JK, only the characters I've made up are mine, you will get to meet the younger children mentioned in the story so far (those younger biological children of Cassi and Orion's.) For clarity, I've tried to put Drusilla as a third year, the same year as Fred and George. Time is running out to help decide which house Hermione and Ginny will end up in. (I'm thinking a split decision... it fits my plot better) and I'm settled on some minor pairings. Oh, and protests about the Sorting to occur in the next chapter or two should be directed to my PM box, hopefully you all will have caught some hints, which is why the Harry/Draco sorting poll is no longer active. Brownie recipe to anybody who can tell me what house Harry will be sorted to and why, citing examples from the chapters so far.

Review, enjoy!

and remember, not all questions can be answered in a single chapter.

* * *

August 1, 1991

Harry sat at the edge of his seat. Today was the day he would be going to Diagon Alley for the first of two shopping trips for Hogwarts. He could barely contain himself! However, it would be the first time he would be around anybody other than his Governess and closest friends since he was younger, and it would not do for him to appear anything other than the well-bred Potter heir.

So Harry took a deep breath, practicing his Occlumency. He cleared his mind and relaxed. He managed to finish the balance of his breakfast and waited patiently for the others to do so. Aunt Cassi would be going, as she needed supplies from the apothecary. The twins would also be going, although they would be with the Governess most of the time, getting fitted for robes for their ninth birthday in December. And of course Uncle Orion and Dru would be going, as Dru was beginning her third year as a Slytherin.

Soon everybody was ready to take the trip to Diagon Alley. The younger kids would be going with the Governess to the higher end shops, while Harry had to be content with the Ministry-approved shops for purchasing his Hogwarts supplies. He didn't like it, but there was nothing anybody could do about it.

"Alright. You know the commoners will be about, so lets get going so we can be done with the messy bit as soon as possible." Orion commanded, and the whole collection of them stepped into the floo.

At Diagon Alley the extended family split up, with the younger siblings going with the Governess to the more exclusive shops, while Harry, Drusilla, Cassi and Orion went to do the first of the school shopping for Hogwarts.

"WHY do we have to shop here again, Aunt Cassi? Why can't I get my robes where we normally get them?" Harry asked, trying not to sound as whiny as he felt.

"Because the Ministry has only approved certain places to sell Hogwarts materials. It will be fine, and besides, we can always visit The Dark Page when we finish."

Now THAT got Harry excited. The Dark Page was a shop in Knockturn Alley that specialized in barely legal books. However, for the 'special' client, the real rarities lay behind a trap door and a secret passageway. His fascination for ancient and 'forgotten' magic meant that they often had to go to special places to feed his hunger for knowledge. His guardians hardly wanted to suppress his desire to learn, so they indulged it. They were glad he wanted to spend his allowance on books and learning rather than games and foolishness.

"But first," Cassiopeia interrupted his thoughts. "A belated birthday present. Happy Birthday Harry!"

Harry turned and looked, and was handed his very own Gringotts key.

"For me?" Harry was surprised.

"Your parents left you that key. It's your trust fund vault. The primary Potter vault you'll inherit when you turn 17. This one is for your use while you are at Hogwarts."

"Does this mean?" Harry was afraid about what this meant for him in the Black family.

"Of course not. You are still ours, and we will continue to treat you as we treat any of our children. Not to mention, your grandmother's people will likely have left you something. And I'm sure that your mother's family has something for you as well."

Harry beamed. Here it was! Undeniable proof that he was entitled, that his status was not simply a gift of being raised by the Blacks, but his birthright.

"So where will we go to first?" Harry asked.

"The bank, where you will get a balance and then collect what you need for today. We will be back later for your ritual robes, so you can get out then what you will want to take with you to school."

Harry nodded. He was excited. He didn't let it show on his face, but his family knew that the brightness in his green eyes spoke volumes for his mood.

Half an hour later he had spoken to the goblins and was standing in front of his vault. It was impressive. It was quite impressive. And to think, this was only a portion of his inheritance.

"How much is it again, Griphook?"

"Three million galleons in this vault. The balance is in the main Potter vault. It is significantly more than this." Griphook's feral grin focused on Harry.

"Right then. I guess I'll be getting what I need for school." Harry walked in and saw the lone table, with two tiny trunks on it.

"What are these?" He picked one up and it felt warm in his hand.

"Those must be the trunks your mum said she was leaving for you. The other one… well the other one never arrived, but one of those you should be able to open now, and then the next one will be ready for you when you turn 15, if your dad's enchantments held." Cassi answered.

Harry smiled softly. "My parents left me trunks?" He thought that the baby bracelet with his baby blanket, bag and other items were the only things he would have of his parents.

Cassi nodded. "Yeah. You can open it when you get home. For now, we need to get moving before the commoners come out."

Harry shuddered. He had only one experience with the commoners, and it was a nightmare it took his therapist two years to get rid of.

*_Flashback_

_Harry was six years old, and excited for his first outing to Diagon Alley. They were shopping for Dru's party, when she would turn nine, and it was decided that Harry would be able to participate as well. _

"_Will there be lots of people?" He asked. _

"_Yes, there will be lots of people. Remember, stay close to us, and don't let go of my hand for anything!" Cassi ordered little Harry. _

"_Yes Ma'm!" _

_However, when the floo'ed in, there had been a lot of people. Everything was fine at first, until one observant witch saw him walking slightly behind Cassi and shouted_

"_It's the Boy-Who-Lived!" and ran over to try and shake his hand. That started a mob scene of people clamoring trying to reach for him, talk to him, asking him all sorts of questions that blended in with each other because there were so many people. He remembered literally having to push through the crowd to get to an apparition point, where they returned home. _

_It was this same incident that led him to meet his cousin, Draco. Although they were cousins in some way, Harry did not know how. Somehow Cassi got Lucius to agree to let her borrow some of Draco's hair, and they returned the next day, with him as Draco, without incident. _

_*end flashback_

Harry only associated with elite pureblood families since that failure at Diagon Alley. After a few birthday parties nobody dared bring up the incident that led to his parents' deaths. For that he was glad.

"Yes, let's go. Perhaps books first?" Harry asked. That would be the worst place, as it was the biggest store on the list. Going now would be preferable, as most of the other stores only had room for one party at a time. He already had a Potions kit better than the first year one, and so he could avoid the apothecary for now. He might have to ask Aunt Cassi if they could go to that apothecary in Knockturn Alley. They had many more interesting ingredients than the one in Diagon Alley, and he hoped to be on the advanced syllabus in Potions at least, since his Aunt was a Potions Master and all.

"Good plan." Orion nodded. He had come to the same conclusion that Harry had, and hoped to be able to keep his wand in its holster for this trip.

Harry walked next to Drusilla, whose obsession with the color green had tripled since she was sorted Slytherin, if such a thing was even possible. The pair walked into Flourish and Blotts for their books.

"Another Defense teacher this year." Drusilla sighed dismally as she reached for the book _Defense and You. _

"Didn't you just get a new teacher last year?" Harry asked, picking up his own Defense book.

"Yeah, they say the position's cursed. Nobody lasts more than a year. Last year the professor went crazy. The year before that he accidentally hexed himself. "

"How do you accidentally hex yourself?" Harry had moved on to select some of his other books, rolling his eyes when he saw that the Potions book was one he had finished by the time he was nine. He still picked it up, he didn't want to seem impertinent.

Drusilla laughed. "No clue. We sat for exams, and then the next morning the Headmaster told us that our professor had been taken to St. Mungos due to an 'accident'. "

"How do you know he did it to himself?" Harry was looking at the Transfiguration supplements. Just because it wasn't on the book list didn't mean it was banned.

"Weasel twins found him in the corridor. Nobody bothered to ask why they were out of bounds that late at night when they went to the Headmaster. Probably the only time being out of place GOT them points. Slytherin still won the House Cup."

Harry smiled. Drusilla was so caught up on house pride. He hoped he would feel it the same way she did, no matter what house it was.

The pair moved towards the front, arms piled full of books of which half certainly weren't on the curriculum, and some probably were hardly age appropriate. However the clerk only needed to see the shiny silver clasps on their robes and the way the expensive cotton flowed to know that these two had money. Better bought from his store than from some shady bookseller in Knockturn Alley. Mr. Brun wouldn't mind anyway. Galleons were Galleons, he told his clerks, and as long as the Ministry didn't pop in anybody could buy anything they wanted.

"That will be 34 Galleons, 12 Sickles and 25 Kunts." He nodded towards Harry.

(A/N: I took the time to find a Galleon to Dollars converter, so that I am as realistic as possible about the cost of things, and about how much a sole heir from an old family could stand to inherit.)

Harry nodded and took 35 Galleons out of his pouch. "Keep the change, kind sir."

The clerk nodded and moved to check out Drusilla.

"That will be 29…" the clerk began.

Harry waved him off and deposited another thirty Galleons on the counter. "I'm sure that will take care of it, right?" He raised an eyebrow.

The clerk nodded happily and watched as the pair walked off, after the older girl had shrunk the books down for easier handling. He had gotten two whole Galleons in tips!

The rest of the trip was uneventful. They had successfully avoided the worst of it by coming so early. Harry and Dru were fitted for new robes and added to a growing collection of clothes. Sure shopping at Madam Malkin's was for commoners, but she had a good reputation for quality when called upon to 'improve' on the base uniform. She could get her hands on the finest cloth, and didn't have the snooty attitude some of the shopkeepers in the Hills had.

Harry had also found two books he liked at The Dark Page. _Ancient Potions and their Uses _promised to be a good resource, especially with a whole section dedicated to elemental magic in potion brewing. _10,000 Spells THEY Don't Want You To Know: A Practitioner's Introductory Guide _was a fascinating book as well. He had also looked at book called _The Dark Arts: What makes them Dark Anyway _but thought maybe he could find the book among the many libraries he had access to.

All in all, it was a productive outing for the family, although the real test would turn out to be that following week, when Harry went to fill out his list and buy his wand.

* * *

August 3rd

Harry stared at the unassuming trunk, much as he had since he had gotten it from Gringotts. What if it was filled with letters, or toys? What if his parents had been dullards? Sure Aunt Cassi always spoke fond words about them, but what if she had been lying to protect him? What if they wanted to disown him if he wasn't sorted in the same house they were?

Finally Harry told his inner doubts to shut UP and moved to open the trunk that was blinking 11. He looked at it, a little confused, when he realized he didn't have the key. Although the pattern on the top of the trunk looked familiar, he was not quite sure. He had seen something like it earlier in his studies, when he was studying some of the darker ways wizards protected their secrets after an interesting History lesson. He was sure it would come to him…

"A Blood Seal" Harry finally recalled. He moved over to his Potions kit and got the tiny needle he used to puncture blowfish bladders and cleaned it thoroughly. He then pricked his own finger and ran it over the seal. At once the trunk glowed purple and the sound of many locks unlocking let him know he was successful.

He opened the trunk once it had stopped glowing, and his breath caught in his throat.

On top was an outdated Hogwarts scarf in Gryffindor colors. There were stacks of books neatly arranged within the trunk and a thick packet of papers. He then noticed three treasures: letters that were addressed to him and what looked like a lineage book poking from underneath it. He knew that Draco and his friends had already started studying their family history, and he of course had been studying his Black and Burke lineage via his Aunt Cassi and Uncle Orion. First and foremost, he took out the letters, and opened the one that said Harry, written in elegant script.

_Dear Harry, _

_I hope this letter finds you well. Just about now you should be getting ready for Hogwarts, doing all sorts of shopping and buying school supplies. If I've learned anything about Cassi, is that she will have you well versed in Potions at least. I was quite good at Potions, as one of my best friends from my younger Hogwarts years was the best at it. He was hands down the best in our year, and probably better than people older than us as well._

_If you're reading this that means that things haven't gone too well for the Order. I'm not sure what kind of world you're living in, but I hope that it's one where you can be safe, at least. Hopefully, Voldemort hasn't taken over and it's just me that's died. I'm not a Seer, but the fact that you have this letter is promising._

_One of the most painful things I have to write is that we are going into hiding. I know that if Headmaster Dumbledore knew I was writing this in a letter to you he would try and keep it from you. However, if James' charms-work is any good you're 11 now and going to Hogwarts you should at least know what the world was like when you were a baby. Fear filled the air. Witches and wizards on both sides of the war were attacked daily. People were afraid for their lives, and the lives of their children. Hogwarts was divided even though it wasn't as tangible. However, the lines were there. People who were raised on one side or the other. Dark versus Light. Duels broke out in the hallways, people pulled their children out of school, and even grey spells and books were banned for fear that they would be a bad influence. _

_I was a Gryffindor, as was your father, but for a while I had friends in all four houses. I was young and foolish. I didn't realize how my friendship with members of Slytherin would affect those members. At the time it was assumed that I was a muggleborn, a mudblood. In the golden dorm of Gryffindor it didn't matter. None of us were lining up to take the Dark Mark as soon as we got the trace removed on our wands. We could be sure of our alliances in Gryffindor. I foolishly took this into my relationships with friends in other houses, and I might have damaged a boy beyond repair because of it. _

_One of my friends was Severus Snape. He was a half-blood wizard that lived near me when I was young and the first person to tell me that what was going on around me was quite normal. We were friends for quite a while, and then things started happening with all of us. People teased him horribly and he already didn't have the brightest childhood growing up. I noticed him drifting away. He was getting closer in with his housemates, who everybody suspected as being Death Eaters in training. Then one day he was being bullied and I offered my help. He got angry and called me a mudblood. Well I got angry right back and never spoke to him again. _

_Looking back on it, I was a foolish girl and regret not reaching out to him. How horrible it must have been to live as a half-blood amongst all that pureblood mania! And to be best friends with a mudblood Gryffindor! I took a boy who had fought all his life trying to fit in and be something resembling normal, who had just been bullied and hexed upside down to a tree, and took it PERSONALLY when he lashed out! All I'm saying is that you reserve final judgment on people until you know all the facts, benefit of the doubt. This goes both ways. Don't trust everybody just because they're in a position of authority, and don't reserve trust because of your first impressions. Same thing goes with your schoolmates. Be sure that they want to be friends with you and not your money. _

_If your other trunk was successful in delivery, then you'll have lots of pictures of us. This trunk looks to be full of James and my school books, as well as some other things that might help you along the way. If Cassi was true to her word, you've been tutored like most pureblood children in wandless applications of magic like Potions and the like, so I've included some more advanced notes on Potions, since it was one of my favorite subjects. I've also put in some of my Charms notes, to start. I've dropped little notes here and there in some of my old textbooks, as well. _

_I love you, Harry. I wish I was there to see you grow up. No matter what anybody says or tries to get you to believe about your father and I, we would be proud of you in ANY house. Don't believe the rubbish like only Dark wizards come from Slytherin and that you're automatically a Death Eater if you get sorted Slytherin. I don't know if the Death Eaters are still about, but they can come from ANY house. Everybody just assumes it because Voldemort was supposedly a Slytherin. _

_Whatever you do, Harry, do your own research. Don't assume a spell is dark because somebody says it is. Don't assume a PERSON is dark because of what house they're in. For that matter, don't assume a person is good because of the house they're in. Looking at the world around me, I can see that we're all sheep following the shepherd. Don't be a follower, be a leader. Voldemort is targeting us because of what we did, Harry. We refused to follow him. However, I can't go on saying that the other side is the best. I know! I was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's special group of witches and wizards who were trying to rid the world of Voldemort. I know I should wait until you're older to say anything like this but… after a while I wondered why we were still fighting. Why was it our responsibility? Especially after I found out I still had family… a pretty well off wizarding family in the States. Why risk leaving you orphaned? I guess, if you reading this letter is any indication, I never answered that question. _

_So we've gone into hiding, and James, Sirius and I had quite the row about it, but we decided that Peter Pettigrew, or Wormtail, would be the best choice for a secret keeper. I've been studying the charm we're going to use, Harry, and my notes on it are divided between this trunk and another trunk you'll get when you're older. The basic premise is, the more trustworthy the secret keeper, the better the charm works. If you're at all curious, the books are here. I doubt James has gone through all the books I've left for you in this trunk for 'age appropriate material.' If I know my husband as halfway as I think he's left some pretty age inappropriate material in here as well. _

_Until my next letter, I hope things go well for you at Hogwarts, Harry. And remember, nothing is what it seems. It's the wizarding world, Harry. Investigate and ask questions. And pay attention to how people answer your questions. I know I've learned lot about how questions are answered, and not answered, in the years since I graduated Hogwarts. _

_Love, _

_Lily Evans (Fells) Potter. _

Harry folded the letter neatly and put it back in its envelope, laying it carefully on his desk. He then picked up the second envelope, where _Prongslet _was written on the front. He wondered if it was a letter from his father.

_Prongslet, _

_Hope you've been enjoying that toy broom Sirius picked up for you! It's probably an old model by now, and you have my permission to pick up a new broom with the money in your trust vault. _

_Your mum wrote quite a thick letter this time, probably all about Hogwarts and the like. Unless you ended up going to school overseas, you'll be at Hogwarts. I was in Gryffindor, along with Lily, Sirius, Peter and Remus. We had some great times there, we did. Gryffindor has the best parties and the cutest girls! Can't say too much about other houses, but if what Sirius says is any indication, there's a high chance you growing up around all those Blacks might influence what house you end up in. Don't worry about all that, just be you. _

_Now here's a little secret. You have two trust vaults, or you did as I was writing this. One is your 'real' trust vault, and the other is a decoy. My mother, your grandmother, died shortly after you were born, but while Lily was pregnant she insisted on that one thing. She said that no matter how the war goes we need to make sure that you have access to what you deserve as a Potter, the grandson of a Burke and the great-grandson of a Black. It's set up so that you're a legitimate heir of all three families, and so you'll inherit a bit from the Blacks and the Burkes, and of course the whole of the Potter legacy. _

_All of that stuff will be in a later letter, full of details. Enjoy Hogwarts, son. I hope the Blacks haven't ruined you, but Lily tells me I'm crazy for thinking so. She says with Cassi growing up in the States and Orion having traveled abroad for most of his studies there is little chance you'll end up like Sirius' other cousins. Be careful, Prongslet. I'm proud of you, no matter what. You've made it this far. If the Death Eaters have taken over, be brave. If we've won, be nice to the losing side. I've stuck some fun things around in your books. Don't study too hard! _

_Love, _

_James (Prongs) _

Harry folded the second letter and placed it with the first. There were so many his questions! He took out the, packet of papers, and saw his birth certificate. He had never seen it before, and it made him miss the parents he missed out on. Part of his brain registered that the magical birth certificate had the label Pure on it, and he wondered what non-purebloods got on their magical birth certificate, if they even had one. He then saw that scribbled next to it was the phrase Pure 7 Generations Verified. That was important, but not as important as the other documents. They were the documents verifying her blood status. Of course, his Grandma Carroway had always sent him letters and the like, but still he felt it was important to have these documents on him. He also noted that there was a spare key to his vault at Gringotts, which he left in the trunk. The books he would look through later, as well as his family lineage tome. He sighed.

There were pictures as well, of a group of teenagers in old- fashioned Quiddich uniforms in those same red and gold colors. He caught sight of a messy head of dark brown hair, one of the shorter guys on the team. 'Probably the Seeker' Harry thought to himself. He watched as they pushed each other around and laughed, lifting up a trophy every now and again. He smiled. At least his father SEEMED normal. He put the picture back and looked up at the clock, noting that it would soon be time for his lessons. Going to Hogwarts did not mean that his lessons would be over, merely that they would change focus to prepare him for the Hogwarts Experience.

* * *

"Governess, what are Death Eaters?" Harry sat, the lone participant in today's lesson, since it was all about etiquette in mixed company.

The Governess huffed. "I had a feeling that when you opened that trunk you would have questions. There was a conflict, Harry, a number of years ago. It's hard to say when it began, but the 70s was definitely the time when everything was at the height. Remember when we discussed your scar and how you got it?"

Harry nodded. "Yes Madam. I was a baby, targeted for some reason by the Dark Lord, Voldemort, or He-who-must-not-be named. My parents were members of the Order of the Phoenix. When he killed my parents he went to attack me but for some reason the attack must have killed him instead. No trace has been seen of him since. People call me the hero, the savior of wizaarding Britain, and the 'Boy-Who-Lived."

The Governess smiled. "It is important to know one's own history, Harry. There is a small book, only a few copies were ever made, on a private printing press. Do you remember what I told you about History, Harry?"

Harry nodded again. "Yes Madam. The winners of conflict write the history, and twist it to their own devices."

The Governess' smile got wider. "Very good Harry. Well, most accounts of what happened that night stem from the stories of two men. Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody. They were the first people to arrive on the scene. Since Moody was the chief of the Auror squad at the time, he led the investigation into what happened at your house that night. Moody and Dumbledore told everybody that story, and so that is the story we have. "

Harry frowned. "Are you saying, Madam, that things could have happened differently, but because the Dark Lord, Voldemort was not around to tell his version of what happened, it fell to the survivors. I could not say what happened, so that meant that whoever found me first told the story. But why lie?"

The Governess just shook her head. "Remember what you just said, Harry. There was a war. The winners get to dictate what history says about the war. Dumbledore and his Order were in direct opposition to the Dark Lord. It would have benefitted his cause best to have what he wanted remembered about the conflict, and the losing side. The world is still a delicate, dangerous place, Harry. Even those among us who remember things differently during the war cannot speak out over those who were declared the victors. The victors run the government, the newspaper and the justice system. Anything that goes against the agreed upon story is heretical."

The Governess continued, pulling a small book out of her pocket. "That's why I'm giving you this book to read, Harry. Somebody was brave enough, while the memories were still fresh, to write down their side of the story. If I told you to just ask anybody what a Death Eater was, you'll get ghouls and monsters worthy of a muggle horror novel. Time also distorts memories, Harry."

Harry nodded. It kind of made sense, with all the other things he had learned about the history of wizards. A thought came to him.

"It's like the Statute of Secrecy and the Great Burnings. To us, a few bad hags messed things up for all of us, and many good families were destroyed because of that. But to muggles it was just a random purge of misfits, with not enough victims to be more than a few paragraphs in a muggle history book. The same events happened, but depending on which side the writer of the history is on, that's the point of view you're going to get."

The Governess paused, her eyebrow raised in expectancy.

"Madam." Harry closed. He almost forgot that whenever he addressed the Governess, or any of his other professors later in life, he could never forget their honorific, lest he be seen as uncultured.

The Governess nodded. "Yes, exactly right, Harry. The sister of a Death Eater wrote this book during the height of the Dark Lord's power. There are other books written, and diaries that sit unpublished, written from that era, that stay hidden for the reason that the Ministry still believes Death Eaters to be a threat. Some of them are probably in the Black Main Library. You have your parent's letters about what was going on, now you have part of the story from a Death Eater's sister. There's the official report, and all the books that have been written about you. Somewhere in the middle of all that is the truth. It might be that only the Dark Lord knows what the truth is, but my guess is that Albus Dumbledore knows as well."

Harry nodded once, a silent assent that he understood, and he did. He was Harry James Potter, heir to the House Potter. His responsibly was to his family line first. He took the book the Governess offered him and looked at the cover.

A simple black leather book, medium thick, with gilt letters scrolling across the front. _To Take the Dark Mark: The Story of A Death Eater. _In smaller print: _The story of one Death Eater told, as observed by a supporter of the Dark Lord. _Underneath that was the inscription _Written by Athena Rookwood. _

Harry looked at the book, then back at his Governess. "They weren't afraid of retribution, Madam?"

"No, Harry. Remember this was written when the Dark Lord was at the height of his power. It's stylized as a diary, and kind of a memorial to the original Death Eaters. I suppose these were just printed up and given to trusted friends and family members. It was my understanding that each member of the Inner Circle was going to write up one, or probably had already done so. I understand that even the original Death Eaters, the ones who started off long ago, had such mementos of their earliest exploits. Ask Bellatrix if she has one. I know of one other book, _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Lord_. There are many books by that title, but only one will bear HIS mark on the inside cover. It was written during the tribunals, I believe, by Evan Rosier's brother."

"Madam, how do you know so much about this?" Harry asked.

The Governess shook her head sadly. "I may be but an old spinster but I have family connections. My second cousin was Jackson Avery, who apparently joined up in the early 70s if not before. He and his son, and probably the grandson, who would be around your age. People in this world like to pretend that they have no relatives who joined the Dark Lord, but the truth is more than enough people thought about it, more than enough marched willingly with the Mark burned on their arms, and more than enough still supported him unmarked. Only members of the Order of the Phoenix can claim to be so clean, and even them only so much. "

Harry nodded. "Thank you, Governess, for the opportunity to study my history in full." He stood and bowed, as was proper in these situations.

The Governess smiled. "It is always best to be informed, Harry. Let me know when you finish reading that, so I can put it back in its safe."

Harry nodded. "I'll read it straight away, Madam. It will help put into perspective some of the things I read in my parent's letters to me. There are other letters in there for me as well, but those won't open for me yet."

The Governess laughed, a strange sound since she never laughed. "Perhaps they are charmed to only open once you've gotten settled at Hogwarts."

Harry could see the logic. "Of course, Madam. That makes sense. May I be dismissed now?"

The Governess nodded. "Good Day, Mr. Potter."

Harry went with rapid grace to his chambers, and sat on his bed. He opened up the book in his hands, and read the foreword:

_It is an honor to be selected to serve. A. Rookwood, January 1975. _

_I remember the first time Augustus came back from a meeting with the Dark Lord. The decade had just turned, and I was due back at Hogwarts to complete my third year as a Slytherin. The weather was frosty, a biting cold, and the Dark Lord had come calling to the Manor, requesting to speak with both Father and Augustus. Apparently, the Dark Lord wanted to recruit members for his movement. The Dark Lord was charming, charismatic, and had a way of convincing people. Soon both my father and my brother had joined him in his noble quest to cleanse the world of the putrid filth that are the mudbloods and muggles. My brother was one of the earliest followers of the Dark Lord, sought out and chosen by the Dark Lord himself. While some were chosen because of political connections, or wealthy coffers, others were chosen for their skill, efficiency and utmost loyalty to the cause. My brother was one of them. _

Harry blinked once, and then twice, and turned the page.

"_These days, we recruit children. Chosen only for the fact that they were sorted Slytherin at Hogwarts. What would the Dark Lord's Great Army be if we had willing Ravenclaws and Gryffindors among us? Ravenclaws to research and plan our moves, and Gryffindors to stand when nobody else will." Augustus Rookwood, January 1978. _

_My brother was not foolish. He was one of the Dark Lord's most trusted servants. He was from an elite family, in the inner circle, and worth the robes his Slytherin crest had been sewn on to. Others might as well have been carrying twigs and wearing rags for all the help they were to the great and noble cause. Instead of being selective, like in the beginning, the Dark Lord took quite a number of the undeserving into his ranks. Not undeserving because of blood. Heaven's no, that half-blood Snape is worth three Crabbes and Goyles. Undeserving because they didn't deserve the pure blood that ran through their veins. They didn't deserve to bear our Lord's Dark Mark. _


	7. Assorted Details

A/N. Thank you all for your reviews and additions to various alert lists and favorites lists. I hope you continue to enjoy this story. The Poll has changed, as everybody but Ginny has been sorted as of the end of this chapter. I've done something I didn't want to do, but it just gives me another angle to play with. Two notes before we begin. Harry grew up being raised by a witch and a wizard who went to purebloods-only boarding schools. Always keep that in mind in case you forget yourselves when reading how Harry treats others.

Don't worry about Sirius. He's not forgotten (tee hee hee). I was going to write about the 'off to Hogwarts party, but it really adds nothing to the story since we can get a sense of how the children interact from being at Hogwarts. Oh, and despite, this will NOT be a Super!Harry story. I personally was going to sort Harry one way, but I guess once I finish this story I can write that one, and finish Mistress Riddle to boot.

Again, thanks for reading. If there's something you don't understand (Like last chapter I got a PM) I am more than happy to explain my logic for how certain characters act/will act. Reviews make me happy, give me encouragement and help chapters come out faster. This chapter was going to be... shorter.. well technically it is...

* * *

August 9, 1991

Grim stretched. His bones felt like they had been bend in the same position for years, and truth be told he was not sure how long he HAD been in this position. He only knew that he had to wait. Watching and waiting were two things that Grim excelled in, having been trained at it for eons it seemed.

So he watched, patient and observant, his ears catching sounds no human ears would catch, and his nose smelling things no human nose can smell. He sat patiently across the lake, named after one of the most ancient houses, watching the two tall wizards who walked across the lawn that would be soon filled with students. The wizards' voices carried across to him, the others unaware of the large black dog that watched them from the edge of the forest.

"I believe that most of the preparations are underway, Headmaster." One of the figures spoke. This one looked like a dark blob from across the lake, but his voice came in as if he was standing next to Grim.

"Good, good. I am certain that the protections you have recommended will be adequate."

The first figure seemed to sag his shoulders. "Are you sure that this is the safest place?"

"Yes, yes. The Stone will be most safe here, we just have to keep a diligent watch to make sure that the Stone remains safe."

"Safe from some, but a test of abilities for others, Headmaster?" The figure cloaked in black queried.

"We have to make sure he hasn't crossed over, my boy. I hate to have my hand forced in these matters, but certain things must be done to ensure our success. Certain steps must be taken in order to rid our charge of the taint he now carries."

"Certainly Headmaster. I will do my part."

"I trust that you will. Everybody must do their part, or else I fear for our future."

Grim had heard what he came to hear. He calmly walked back to the forest, and made ready to deliver his report.

* * *

Grim stood, in his normal form, waiting for his direct superior to arrive. He looked around the room he was in.

Nondescript, just like everything around him, except not. He knew that the bookshelf contained a false back and concealed a room filled with books so dark and old the Ministry didn't even know how to classify it, much less ban it. He knew that the portraits had duplicates in almost every part of the Ministry, and that even a stone sitting on a table was more than it appeared to be. He also knew that the pensive that sat on the table behind where his boss would be sitting in less than five minutes did not only view memories, but to a true Seer could show the future. It once belonged to the original Oracle at Delphi.

Oh, an Oracle still sat at Delphi, and would until the end of time, but only the original Oracle could read from the Cup of Many Waters, which was what the pensive's original name had been.

The original Oracle, or, in this case, her direct descendant.

So Grim waited for Shining Star to appear, and made himself content by looking through the only book he was allowed to read: his upcoming jobs.

"Was today as promised?" a voice called to Grim.

Grim held up a vial filled with silver liquid. "Here it is. It worries me, the location. I may be new, but they talk of plots and schemes, and there are children involved."

"More than you know, Grim. But if what the Cup showed me is accurate, there is time to set the Universe back to rights. Everything was so wrong before, everything was covered with... sludge and slime and filth from the Universe being tampered with. I will view this memory. You have become invaluable, Grim. One day you will be reunited with the timeline. Your just reward will come."

Grim nodded. "I do what I must to pay my debt. When I am sent back, I will remember who I am?"

Shining Star nodded. "Your memories will be restored to you. Because of our work they may feel different, but if we are successful those who would wish you harm will find their reward."

Grim nodded. He absent-mindely rubbed at a small trunk that hung around his neck on a thin silver chain, the only thing he had been allowed to keep of his old life. Even his wand had been taken away, and a replacement wand handcrafted by Spinner. He actually liked this one better, it was custom made for him. But as nothing of his old life could be used here, nothing of this life could remain when he returned.

"I will rest, and then begin on my next assignment. Croaker will be expecting something before the glass turns to the Harvest Moon grown full." Grim spoke of his leader.

"Rest well, servant. You have been of good use to us, but the season for much activity is upon us. The bricks we lay now will sustain us through the times that shall come upon us. Even as you depart you will know the work that we have done. You remember the vision you saw when you first arrived?"

Grim nodded. It was bleak and desolate. The smell of Death filled the air, and even as the Light reigned supreme the damage from the battle had been great.

"We have been working, bending time to have more time, and we have cleared much of the filth from that which bends out Universe away from True and towards it's own ends. One that has tried to control the Universe for too long. However, work must sill be done. Go now. Rest, servant. Return to Croaker and heed his call. The Sturgeon Moon grows fat in the glass."

Grim touched the trunk around his neck one more time, a hint of a memory trying to break free. It would not. So he simply bowed and went to his chamber to rest.

* * *

September 1st

Harry smiled as he stood on the platform, watching as the great red train rolled in. He had insisted on being punctual, and he was rewarded with a quiet platform where only a few families with older children stood. He had his main trunk with him: a large ebony number with four compartments and his family crest emblazoned on each side. His initials were engraved in the top and covered in gold leaf. A feather light charm, a differential locking mechanism and a theft deterrent charm completed the deluxe package. His other trunk was inside of that, in a shallow drawer where he also kept important papers and his stationary supplies.

He had read the letters several times, his parents' letters. He had studied one of the charms books his mother had left him, and had been excited about the idea of getting solid advanced theory in all subjects so that he could understand what he was reading. The other bits stuck with him, but the rush of getting ready to leave home for the first time kept him from focusing on too much at a time.

He also wondered about this Sirius person his parents kept mentioning in the letters, but every time he went to ask somebody about him, the name slid from his mind and he was suddenly struck by the need to do something else. He even tried writing the name down and carrying it with him, only to find inarticulate scribble written when he had found his Aunt Cassi or Uncle Ori.

Drusilla stood next to him, watching the train pull in. She was wearing a pair of charcoal slacks and a dark green blouse. She would only need to slip her robe on in order to be ready for the Opening Feast. She put her trunk on a carrier and scooped her familiar, a midnight black cat named Pandora, into her arms. The cat's silver eyes made it a highly unusual animal.

The elder twins, who would turn nine in November, smiled in matching yellow outfits. Cordelia and Octavia were bright and glad to be finally included on a family outing. Little Orion was along as well. The younger three watched in awe as families started to gather.

Harry smiled down at his siblings. He thought of them as such, and even thought that it would do good to include Cordie and Tavia as honorary Potters, if there was a need. He loved his twin baby sisters to pieces.

"Here with plenty of time. I'm off to find a compartment." Harry smiled.

Orion smirked. "Quite right. Only the top families can get clearance to come this early. It's worth it, not being smothered by commoners."

Cassiopeia sighed. "Be safe, Harry." She felt her eyes growing moisture again, but forced her expression to be calm and stoic. The family had eaten an early breakfast and they had all enjoyed a tearful goodbye before arriving at the station.

Harry felt his Uncle Orion's hand on his shoulder and looked up. He caught the look in his eye, and knew what the man was thinking before he spoke.

"No matter what house you land in, you've made me proud. Do your heritage proud, Harry."

"Yes sir."

The twins and Orion II gave him a large hug, as Dru said goodbye to her parents. Then, they were off. On the train, and they chanced to wave out of a window at the family, and then it was over.

Harry Potter was going to Hogwarts.

* * *

Silence had descended on the compartment ages ago. Harry sat among his closest friends, enjoying the feel of the train as it barreled towards their future.

Daphne sat, reading a teen witch novel that she was sharing with Tracey Davies. Tracey's dark curls were barely tame and sat around her head like a dark luxurious halo, framing her face as she read a similar book. Miranda Lestrange was also there, playing a round of Wizards Chess with Blaise, Mira's dark hair in a thick braid down her back. Theo was lounging, reading a book with no discernable title, and Harry was immersed in one of his mother's Charms journals. All was quiet, until.

*knock knock

"Tracey, can you grab that?" Daphne asked.

"No way, I'm just getting to the best part! Blaise you get it, you're a boy…"

*knock knock

"I most certainly will not get it. Lestrange might try and take advantage of me!"

"I will not. My sister is the evil twin, not me! Theo, you get it."

"OH for crying out loud!" Theo closed his book and walked over to the compartment door, which SOMEBODY had locked from the inside using very handy charms notes he had just inherited from his mother.

"I'm looking for a toad. A boy named Neville's lost him. Have any of you seen him?"

"No." was the unison response.

"Oh well…" the girl with very bushy brown hair turned to leave, and then she gasped.

"Merlin's beard! You're Harry Potter!" she breathed.

"Whose Harry Potter?" Theo looked around, acting like he had no idea who he was just sitting across from.

"HE is! With the silver spectacles and the scar on his forehead!" the girl exclaimed.

Daphne decided to get in on the fun. "You're Harry Potter? Oh my!" She whispered excitedly.

"I am?" Harry looked down, faking confusion. "Oh well, I suppose I am."

Miranda couldn't help herself. "You mean we've been sitting here, in the same compartment as the Boy-Who-Lived?"

The others began murmuring, but the girl with the bushy brown hair interrupted them by walking into the compartment to speak to Harry.

"I've read every so many books about you. I love reading books and I wonder if what the books say about you…"

"Slow down. Nobody's ever done an interview of me, so those books are either lying or spying on me. Second, don't talk so fast. How can you ever hear the answers if you're constantly talking?" Harry asked.

The girl blinked owlishly at Harry.

Daphne snorted before she could help herself. "Find a Prefect. They can summon the toad and find it much faster than knocking on compartment doors the whole time. You might save yourself the embarrassment of a bad first impression."

The girl nodded. "Thank you. Where should I find a Prefect?"

Miranda spoke up. "Tristan says they stay in the first compartment on each car. Look there. And avoid any mention of your parentage, at least until you're sorted."

The girl with the bushy brown hair stared. "What do you mean?"

Miranda swallowed. "Your whole personality screams that your parents are non-magical. Try for Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. You'll stand out too much as a Gryffindork or a Slytherin. Especially as a Slytherin."

The girl bobbed her head and vanished, with another quick glance towards Harry.

"And so it begins." Harry sighed, and attempted to find his place again.

"Hello dearest cousins." A voice drawled "Collecting mudbloods early, I see."

"Malfoy." Harry and Miranda both spoke at the same time.

"So good to know that you all love me. Titania sends her love. " Draco winked.

"Is this a social call, Draco, or do you have something to tell us?" Harry looked at his cousin.

"The youngest male Weasel has been hunting you down the entire trip so far. He'll tell anybody within earshot that you two have been best friends since you were in diapers and that he intends to be your only best friend forever."

Harry rolled his eyes. He was afraid of this. "What did you do, Draco?"

Draco smirked. "Nothing. It will be much better when we can expose him once we're off this fool train. I must be getting back. Crabbe and Goyle will have eaten themselves out of house and home, and I don't fully trust Titania not to hex Millicent and Pansy into their NEWTs with all of their idle gossip."

"We?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Our differences aside, Potter, we are family." Draco's face remained neutral. "We can be academic rivals our entire career, but I cannot allow a Weasel to besmirch the good name Aunt Cassi and Uncle Ori have built up with his foul accusations. Filthy pauper blood traitor."

Harry frowned. The Weasleys were blood traitors. He could not get into trouble by having elites thinking he would ally with a blood traitor. "We will have to take care that all my hard work not be undone." Harry said decisively.

Draco smirked and then vanished out of the door, which closed in blissful silence behind him.

Harry simply closed his eyes. "No more surprises… please."

Fate was happy to accommodate.

* * *

The first years were all standing around, talking amongst themselves. Harry looked out across his year-mates and wondered who he would hate by the end of the week. He had taken the time to style his hair over his scar, and took off his glasses. The treatments were going well, but something was preventing 100% restoration so he still needed the glasses here and there. He turned to Daphne and Blaise with a curious eye when he caught a part of their conversation.

"Some people call it the Dark Boom, but that's foolish." Blaise was saying.

"Dark Boom?" Harry raised an eyebrow despite himself.

Daphne nodded. "Rumor is that the past six Hogwarts classes have had more children from Dark aligned families than in the past. Well, the recent past. They say that the class in front of us, our class and the class in the back will likely have more Slytherins than anything."

Blaise corrected. "Slytherins and Ravenclaws. Apparently there had been a fertility problem among non Dark families, where even if children managed to be born they barely survived past the first year. Mostly it was that children could not be sired."

Harry nodded. "I learned about that. Somebody figured out how to counteract whatever it was that was causing the fertility problem and thus we have families who were at risk of going dormant growing back into prominence."

Miranda, who was standing nearby, whispered "My mother says that it was the war. Since the late 1930's somebody has been trying to kill off the families that keep the old ways and rites. They had been fairly successful until the Dark Lord ordered a solution to the problem."

"Alright everyone, lets go." A professor came in, her hair pulled back in a tight bun and a no-nonsense look on her face.

A/N: Forgive the laziness. This part doesn't change from Canon.

Abbot, Hannah!

Hufflepuff!

Bones, Susan!

Hufflepuff!

Boot, Terry!

Ravenclaw!

Harry listened with half an ear, paying attention to where his friends were going.

Davies, Tracey!

Slytherin!

Everything was going pretty much as expected until

Granger, Hermione!

Harry watched as the girl with the bushy brown hair walked up to the hat and allowed it to be placed on her head.

Ravenclaw!

The girl looked apprehensive. She threw a fleeing glance towards the Gryffindor table, but joined the Ravenclaws in their polite applause.

'So Mira had been right. She is a mudblood.' Harry thought in his head.

Then

Greengrass, Daphne!

Harry watched with curiousity. All the Greengrasses he had ever known were in Slythierin. But the hat was taking FOREVER.

Ravenclaw!

Daphne looked shocked, to say the least. She was able to compose herself and walked primly over to the Ravenclaw table, sitting next to Mandy and glaring at Harry.

Other names came and went, and then Harry received the next shock to his system.

Lestrange, Miranda!

Ravenclaw!

There was silence. There hadn't been a Lestrange who wasn't sorted Slytherin since Archibald Lestrange went Hufflepuff. Mira, for her pride, however, walked primly over to the table and sat, to watch her sister get sorted.

Lestrange, Titania

Slytherin!

It was as if the entire hall took a deep breath. That was more like it.

Harry paid idle attention as a Longbottom by the name of Neville was sorted Gryffindor, some other people were sorted properly, including Draco (Slytherin) and before he knew it.

Potter, Harry!

Harry took a deep breath, and walked up to the stand. He sat primly onto the stool and let the hat fall over his head.

_Hello there! What do we have here? Desire for Greatness, Check. Desire for Knowledge, Check, Foolishness, nope. You're brave, but you're smart. You know when to take action, but you like to wait until you have all the facts before you decide something. You've got ambition for days, but most of that is directed towards learning as much as you can. You want Power, but you aren't in a rush to get it. Slytherin would be good for you, a perfect fit, but with you slow and steady wins the race, it appears. _

_You want to restore the Potter name in the eyes of the Elites, and the best place for that is _

Ravenclaw!

Harry stood up, shaking a little, as the hall thunderously applauded. It was strange. His family associates in Slytherin were glad he wasn't a Gryffindor. The Gryffindors were glad he wasn't a Slytherin. The Ravenclaws were happy to have him, and the Hufflepuffs applauded for anyone not sorted Slytherin.

'It's so odd!' Harry thought to himself as he sat down.

"I blame you." Theo glared at him from across the table.

"I had nothing to do with your sorting. You wanted to be over there with Malfoy?" Harry pointed a thumb over his back.

"I heard that, Potter!" Draco shouted back. Both boys knew it was in good fun. Mostly.

Harry rolled his eyes. "You read all the time. Of course you're going to be in Ravenclaw."

Theo rolled his eyes, barely paying attention as the Weasley Draco had warned Harry about was sorted Gryffindor and Zabini was sorted Slytherin.

Blaise sat down, with his back to Harry.

"Well, this will be an interesting seven years." Blaise joked.

"No Kidding!" Harry laughed. Soon food appeared and Harry took a portion for himself and began eating. Already he could feel the divide among the housemates in his year.

He was best friends with Daphne and Mira, who were quickly taking a shine to a girl name Mandy and an Indian girl named Patil. The girl with the bushy brown hair was talking to a girl, Fawcett, who was apparently another mudblood, and Lisa Turpin, a pureblood by birth, but from one of those families that stopped following the old ways during the first War of the 30's.

A boy named Goldstein was talking to another boy, Terry Boot he thought, and the two of them seemed to be getting quite chummy with a third boy, Michael Corner. Harry didn't know any Corners, and figured that Michael was either a half blood or a mudblood.

Harry turned to Nott, who was quickly warming up to another boy he hadn't noticed before.

"Harry, meet Christophe Warrington. His brother's in Slytherin."

"It is a pleasure to meet you." Harry reached over the mashed potatoes to shake hands with the boy.

"I should be honored, to meet a person of such standing as you."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You took the rites?"

Christophe nodded. "Family moved to Canada shortly after my brother took his first rites. Because we're English by birth we come to Hogwarts, but we really live over there now. However, since both my brother and I are here, we'll be taking our second rites here."

Harry nodded. That was hardly uncommon, if not just a bit inconvenient.

Dessert was being served when Harry felt a jab in his back. He turned around and found himself facing Blaise and Tracey, who were facing him.

"Best friends still?" Blaise held out his hand.

"Of Course." Harry shook his hand.

Tracey smirked. "Have fun with the brain trust."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Have fun in the snake pit"

At this Daphne whirled around. "But you like snakes."

Harry smirked. "Snakes are fun. But Tracey's all alone in there."

"I've got Blaise." Tracey dropped down to a hair's whisper. "And I'm pretty sure that this Perks girl has more to her than it seems. And I can at least get along with Tia. "

Daphne smirked. "Well there's that."

The friends all laughed and then turned back to face their own houses again. Dessert was treacle tart in any number of flavors, and Harry chose orange, as the unique flavor was one of his favorite.

Soon the Headmaster was giving a speech.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, everyone. Just a few quick words and then off to bed. The Forbidden Forest is exactly that: Forbidden. The third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to all students unless they want to die a most painful death, and Mr. Filch has asked me to remind all students that spell casting in the hallway is forbidden, and the list of banned objects will be made available to all students. As usual, time tables will be handed out by the end of breakfast tomorrow. Have a pleasant evening. Goodnight!"

Penelope Clearwater, who was wearing a giant shiny P on her robes, walked over to the first years and spoke. "Follow me."

The students complied, and tried to memorize the way to the Ravenclaw common room. Finally they stopped at a suit of armor and a solid bronze knocker shaped like a face, and Penelope turned to them.

"This is the entrance to the common room. We have one of the most highly advanced entrances of the four houses. The other house that comes close is Slytherin, which accepts the password in any language.

In order to access the dorms you must answer a riddle or a question. They will be year appropriate and will get progressively harder as the year goes on. With the inherent differences in what type of history you may have learned before attending Hogwarts, that won't be a category you'll have to deal with until third year."

Penelope then turned to the wall.

"An easy one, for the first week of school. Earth, Wind, Water…."

Penelope smiled. "Fire"

The door appeared and opened. The first years stared into the impossibly blue room.

"Welcome to Ravenclaw"

* * *

Elsewhere in London.

"A Ravenclaw, eh?" A hoarse voice whispered.

"A Ravenclaw. Not exactly perfect, but…"

"Compared to the mess we've had to clean up so far we could have done much worse. At least as a Ravenclaw the target will study, learn, and be receptive to various ways of looking at the world."

"Silver Fox has already begun that process. Placement of the artifact was a success."

"Prefect. Care for a wee nip before we turn in?"

"Sounds agreeable."

And two soft pops broke the slightly chilly silence and the displaced grass was the only sign that anybody had ever been standing in that spot.


	8. Setting The Pace

A/N. For a visualization of how the rooms work in Ravenclaw, so you can picture it in your head: The common room is circular, with two sets of stairs leading up to the dorms themselves (girls and boys). Each landing counts as a floor. The first landing is the first years. A description of the dorm room is gender neutral, except there will be extra mirrors in the girls dorms. The second landing is the combined baths for first and second years. Next is the second year's floor. Next is the third year's floor. Next is the baths for third and fourth years…. This continues with the effect that the seventh years have their own bathroom, which is the only case where the order is reversed, as the seventh years have a skylight in their dorm, as well as an extra large window.

* * *

September 3rd

A chime next to Harry's bed let him know it was time to wake up. He was not used to sharing a room with anybody, much less so many boys, so he set his alarm early so he could be first to the baths.

Harry slid out of bed, and he buried his feet in the dark blue carpeting of his dorm room. Soft snores from around him told him that his roommates were asleep. The room was rectangular, an odd feat in a circular dorm, but Harry figured it had something to do with Hogwarts being able to automatically accommodate people based on where they are sorted.

The room was a large rectangle, and had beds on either side. At the far end was a large picture window with a large bench seat to accommodate at least three people.

On one side, slept Teddy Boot, Michael Corner, and Anthony Goldstien. Three identical canopy beds in deep blue sat occupied. On one side of each was a small nightstand, which housed a silver oil lamp with a special burning wick that would never overheat and catch on fire. The nightstand had a single drawer, and a lower section that could house books or the like. In front of each bed was each boy's trunk, some more impressive than others. At the end of the row of beds sat a long desk with three chairs. Over the desk sconces contained more of the oil lamps, and the desk was partitioned like a cubicle.

The other side was an exact replica, except the middle bed was unoccupied, as Harry went to the wardrobe to gather his shower things. At the far end, on either side of the large window, was a triple wide wardrobe. IT was divided into three sections, which housed a chest of drawers and a closet for each boy. The space was magically expansive, so that no matter how many clothes a person wanted to fold away or hang in the closet they would all fit. Each also had a small mirror and shelf, where a boy could check his hair or fix his tie.

Harry stretched and meditated, feet folded and hands in prayer pose, for a little while, to center himself on what his day would entail. It was a lot of work to keep focused in such an environment, with so many new distractions. He breathed in and out, clearing his mind of needless clutter and information. Once he was satisfied that he was calm enough to be attentive to his studies for the day he moved to gather his things, and went to the boys' bath that occupied the level between the first and second year's room.

* * *

Breakfast that morning began promptly at 7 am. Harry waited for Theo and the rest to be ready before attempting to walk down to breakfast. They were rewarded with a full English spread, to customize as they pleased. Harry selected two slices of bacon, a tomato slice, a portion of black pudding and toast with marmalade. He didn't fancy eggs too well, but would eat them on command. He also didn't like baked beans with his breakfast, and figured that if he was hungry he could eat some fruit during the study break after first block. Soon another Prefect, this time a sixth year named Jones, walked down the aisle handing out the schedules. HE got his in short order and put it under his plate while he ate and observed his fellow classmates. He could hear snatches of conversation from both Slytherin and Ravneclaw, and wished he could sit with all his friends at once.

Harry finished his breakfast, and wrapped a scone, a banana and a slice of bacon up for a snack before the food vanished. He then looked down at his class timetable and the realization that he was beginning his formal training made him smile.

MW

9:00 – 10: 30 Transfiguration – Slytherin (Wednesdays Double)

11:00 AM Study

12:00 PM Lunch

1:00 – 2: 30 Herbology – Gryffiondor (Fridays Added)

3:00 – 4:30 PM History of Magic – Hufflepuff

TTH

9:00 – 10: 30 AM Charms – Gryffindor (Thurs. Double)

11:00 AM Study

12:00 PM Lunch

1:00 – 2: 30 DADA – Slytherin

3:00 – 5:30 Potions - Gryffindor

F

9:00 – 10:30 DADA - Slytherin

11:00 – Study

12:00 Lunch

11:00 PM Astronomy

Harry was jut about to comment on his schedule when a loud explosion of air sounded behind him.

"Potions with Hufflepuffs? Honestly! Does the Headmaster WANT us all to die?"

Harry could hear Pansy's loud whining clear thorough the noise that was breakfast.

"I hear it's a new experiment. Gryffindor has had Potions with Slytherin since forever, but the Board of Governors has become concerned about the lack of people who are willing to become candidates for Auror Training. A requirement is a high enough NEWT score in certain subjects. The people most likely to want try to be an Auror don't get to because they don't do well in Potions." Daphne said, as she plucked an apple from the pile.

Harry smirked. "And you thought you'd been sorted incorrectly, Ms Encyclopedia Of Ministry Affairs."

Daphne huffed. "It TRUE. Only Gryffindors are desperate and foolish enough to REALLY want to be Aurors. Not enough of them are qualifying so… they figured putting them in OUR Potions class will be beneficial in the long run."

A Chinese second year Ravenclaw broke into the conversation. "So now WE have to suffer because Gryffindors can't handle themselves in Potions. Our classes will go much slower with them in our class"

The other second years were agreeing.

"Why?" Theo queried, looking curiously down at his schedule in between bites of jam and bread.

"That's simple" A third year three spots down from Harry responded. "The professor HATES Gryffindors. He tolerates us because we don't usually make too many mistakes outside of the first few weeks of class, and he terrifies the Hufflepuffs, but they don't irritate him as much as Gryffindors do. Everybody says he favors the Slytherins, but really that's just because he hates Gryffindor so bad it SEEMS like he hates everybody."

Harry raised an eyebrow and turned to the sole authority he knew on Professor Snape. Harry whirled around to face the Slytherin table. "Why, Draco?"

Draco lifted a perfect eyebrow in question. "Why what, Harry?"

"You've known Professor Snape the longest. Isn't he a family friend?"

Draco shrugged. "He is a family friend, but Merlin knows I'm not asking him why he hates a house nobody I care about is even in!"

Nods around the Slytherin and Ravenclaw table told Harry all he needed to know. "Well, I don't want him in a foul mood at US because of the Gryffindor firsties." He turned to the third year that had spoken, finally recognizing him as one of Tracey's brothers.

"How bad will it be?"

"Dunno." The third year shrugged. "Ask the Slytherins. They've been through a double Potions with the Gryffs."

Harry turned around expectantly, and found Tristan Lestrange's eyes.

"Later, cuzzo." Tristan smirked.

Harry took that for exactly what it meant, and vowed to try and find his older cousin later for details. He would also have the benefit of asking Blaise or Tracey how Potions would go, as they had it on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Breakfast proceeded without incident, except for the constant grumbling of Slytherins and Ravenclaws about how unfair it was that they had to have double Potions with such incompetent houses.

* * *

Harry sat, listening raptly as his Quick Notes quill took detailed notes about what Professor McGonagall was discussing about the basics of Transfiguration. He sat at a table with his two closest friends: Daphne and Theo, while right behind him sat Mira, Padma and Christophe. At the very front were the bushy haired mudblood, the blonde mudblood and Turpin. Across the aisle from him sat Blaise, Tracey and Draco. It was good that his first class every week was with people he liked.

Eventually they were able to try their first spells as Hogwarts students: attempts at turning matchsticks into needles. Understanding how to pronounce the incantation correctly meant that Harry was only having problems getting his wand movements and power levels correct. Daphne was first, getting her 20 points for Ravenclaw, and Harry quickly followed. He enjoyed the satisfaction that came with a properly completed transfiguration. He soon got the hang of it and was able to guide Theo in what he was doing wrong. Soon most of the Ravenclaws were finished, but the bushy haired mudblood gave his table a scowl when Harry lapsed into French to keep the others from hearing his instructions.

"Congratulations to those who completed the assignment today. For those of you who finished, write half a foot about what you did to complete the task. Those of you who did not complete today's assignment need to practice and be prepared to perform the transfiguration in class on Tuesday. Read the next section of the unit. Class Dismissed."

The class gathered their things and the bushy haired girl proclaimed as they were leaving

"Its rude to speak in another language in class."

Harry scoffed. "And it's rude to eavesdrop." His friends snickered and the girl stormed off, with the blonde and Turpin following in her wake.

The rest of the day went about the same, with the bushy haired Ravenclaw giving his group scowls and glares whenever they finished an assignment before her. Soon it was the study period before dinner and Harry went to find his cousin to talk about how to prepare for Potions the next day.

"Lestrange." Harry found his cousin lounging in the courtyard, enjoying the last of the warm weather before fall set in. He was with a few of his year mates, discussing the return of school and their summers in general.

"Potter. I suppose this is about earlier?" the boy raised a dark eyebrow and looked at the first year.

"Indeed. Potions with Gryffindor."

Tristan shrugged. "Don't irk Professor Snape. Once you've chosen a person to work with, you'll need to cast a protection charm over your cauldron, which will keep others from adding things to your potion. The Gryffindorks like to play pranks in order to distract from their own ineptitude in Potions. Make sure you know that entire book cover to cover. Shouldn't' be a problem for you, Cassi's a good teacher from what I gather of Dru's work in the class."

Harry nodded. "Why wasn't Dru at breakfast?"

Tristan laughed. "The Slytherin girls don't come to breakfast regularly. I suspect Dru was revising for Arithmancy. That class is notorious for having an exam the first day of each term. Students who do not pass the basic exams are asked to leave and choose another elective. Professor Vector has little time to coach idiots to a level of competency."

Harry frowned. "So you have to know Arithmancy before taking the class?"

Tristan shook his head. "No. But the basics covered on the exam are a part of the reading assignment, as well as required to know to complete the summer assignment. Each year is expected to have at least attempted to learn certain operations over the summer. The correct answers are not as important as understanding how the operations work. Not doing the summer work is tantamount to saying you don't care about learning the more advanced topics covered each year."

Harry understood. Professors hardly could be expected to teach from scratch, if the basics could be learned by reading and practicing.

"Thanks, Tristan. How can I learn the protection spell for my cauldron?"

Tristan shrugged. "Don't you have a copy of the Advanced Potions book? The spell should be in there, and you and your partner simply do it before beginning, drawing circles around the cauldron seven times clockwise. When you're finished brewing, draw circles counterclockwise and say the counter-charm."

Harry nodded. He loved Potions and would hate if Gryffindor pranks ruined the subject for him.

"Thanks Tristan. Tell Dru I said hi, in case I don't see her at dinner tonight."

Tristan nodded. "Will do."

Harry rushed back to his dorm, and taught his friends, as well as Padma the spell. They tested it and found it satisfactory. Once cast, nobody who had not cast the spell over the cauldron could drop anything into it. The object simply stuck to the person's hands, and all reported that the spell stung when they tried.

Daphne smirked. "Now we just need to learn how to increase the power of the spell, so that there is a telltale sign that somebody tried to tamper with a potion that wasn't theirs."

Everybody got a good laugh at that.

"Maybe you do belong in Slytherin after all, Daph." Theo commented. "Protecting your own work AND getting somebody else in trouble sounds like something a Slytherin would do."

Harry laughed. "Yeah, but creating more work by trying to add things to the spell screams Ravenclaw. The Hat knew what it was doing, Daph."

Daphne rewarded Harry with a scowl for his comment, but it didn't reach her eyes.

* * *

The next morning Harry saw Dru at breakfast with her friends, but the only thing he could see her eating was a grapefruit half accompanied by what looked like coffee. She was, however, the picture of perfection, like always. He flashed her a quick smile, which she returned before turning back to her friends.

The day went about the same as the day before. Charms was fascinating to Harry, especially given how practical it was. He did not see much use for Transfiguration, but his mother's Charms notes had him seeing all sorts of possibilities. Eventually he would read her notes on the charm used to protect his house, but for now he was satisfied with being able to put the basic theory to good practice. It was clear that for this class his foreign language training would help, since pronunciation of a spell could change what it did, or make it ineffective.

The next major event was Potions. The Ravenclaws quietly walked down to the Potions classroom and began setting up their kits. Late the previous night the group of friends decided that it was safe enough to charm their cauldrons to each other, and it would save them the grief of dealing with the prying know-it-all and the Gryffindors. So Harry, Daphne, Theo, Padma, Mandy, Miranda and Christophe cast the charms for each other's cauldron, agreeing that unless something drastic happened Professor Snape would likely not force them to work with Gryffindors.

After setting up, the Gryffindors came in like a herd of elephants. It wasn't really until the door opened again and Professor Snape came billowing in that silence reined. Professor Snape had very pale skin and limp black hair, which hung loosely around his jaw line. His robe and shirts were pitch black, but of a fine cotton that spoke of quality. A person versed in reading magical traces would have seen that his robe contained anti staining and anti corrosive protections, as well as a liquid repellent and some other muggle protections against staining and damage from potions. The professor had a larger than average nose, and calculating dark eyes that looked like bottomless pits. He began calling the roll, and paused after the Gryffindor Patil's name.

"Potter, Harry…. Our new… celebrity." The professor looked up from role call and gave Harry an unreadable look.

The whole of the Gryffindors snickered, and the bushy haired girl whirled around in her seat to stare.

Harry simply responded to his name, and Professor Snape continued to call role down to Weasley, Ronald. The professor then banished the scroll and looked at the students, staring at each one of them for what seemed like ages, before beginning his introduction.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. His voice was silky and deep, but his posture and tone commanded rapt attention. Not a body in that room dared breathe too loud for fear of bringing the full power of that voice onto their heads.

"I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses…" The professor had begun to pace at this point, walking back and forth in front of the class, looking at students as he made his way.

Harry understood. He had always been fascinated by how each ingredient in a potion did different things, and how the same base ingredient in different preparations caused different effects.

"I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." The professor paused in his stalking across the classroom and whirled, staring right through to the second row with the speed and agility of a hunter pouncing on a weaker prey.

"Potter! What do you get if you added powdered asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry perked up. "The Draught of Living Death, Sir."

Professor Snape widened his eyes a micro-millimeter and said. "Where would you find a beozar?"

"In the stomach of a goat, Sir. Provided he did not have enterotoxemia, which would ruin the effects."

"What is the difference between aconite and monkshood?"

"There is no difference, Sir. They are the same plant."

"If I were to add powdered brown recluse eggs to a fever-reduction potion, what would be the result?"

"The potion would destabalize and produce harmful fumes. If the powdered eggs included any venom the fumes could be deadly, Sir."

"Well, Mr. Potter, it seems as though you have actually earned the crest you wear on your robes.

The bushy haired girl whirled around and glared at Harry, who ignored her and simply replied.

"Thank you Sir."

After an introduction into how to set up and start a potion, Professor Snape announced the assignment for the day.

"Today you will brew the Boil-Cure potion from page 10. Those of you needing supplies from the cabinet may select them at this time. This is not a group project. You will label your flasks at the end of the class."

Harry sighed and began pulling out the ingredients for the potion. Knowing how to do the potion already made the process quick for him. Before he realized he was on the final stages by using a shortcut, which at first seemed counter productive. Harry knew that the porcupine quills temporarily destabilized the potion. Waiting a while longer after the potion was taken off the fire helped the potion stabilize so that adding the porcupine quills took less time and the potion could be returned to the fire faster. He was at final simmer when disaster struck.

Close to the front of the classroom there was a hissing noise followed by loud pops. Harry quickly took his potion off the burner and cast a stasis spell on it that was common, and mentioned in the first chapter of the assigned book. He looked around quickly and saw most of his housemates had done the same thing. The loud pops continued and the hissing sound grew in intensity until….

"UP! Everybody UP on your chairs!" The professor ordered. Harry complied and watched as a chubby Gryffindor boy was splashed by a bad reaction to a mis-brewed potion. Judging by the color of the liquid quickly seeping around the station and eating through everything in sight Harry guessed that the boy had added his quills before taking the potion off the burner.

"15 points from Gryffindor. Take him to the infirmary Ms Moon. Miss Brown, Why did you not warn Mr. Longbottom about putting the quills into the potion before taking it off the burner?"

"Quills?" a girl with brown pigtails frowned, looking down at her book in confusion. Harry could tell that this particular student hadn't even gotten to the first simmer.

"Nevermind. Ms Granger. Your station is across from his, why didn't YOU warn him?"

"I didn't realize he didn't know, Sir."

"15 points from Ravenclaw for failing to be observant to the area around you. How do you expect to keep your own potions from danger if you do not pay attention to those sitting next to you?"

The brown haired girl, Granger, sniffed and looked like she was about to cry.

"Can anybody tell me what might have happened if this failed potion…" Professor Snape indicated the potion that had stopped spreading, but had melted the cauldron it was brewed in. "if this potion had gotten into a more completed potion or onto the ingredients of a less completed potion?"

Harry knew, so he raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Potter."

"The balance of the nearly finished potion would have been thrown off, depending on what caused that potion to reach the state it is currently in. Touching ingredients from a potion in a lower completion stage would have had the same effect, throwing the balance off and possibly causing a deadly substance to form, especially if various portions of the brewing process were completed incorrectly."

"10 points to Ravenclaw. Anything to add?"

Harry took a deep breath. In for a penny, in for a pound. "Given that it would take time to know exactly how many steps were performed incorrectly, as well as not knowing if the ingredients themselves were prepared correctly before being added, there are numerous possibilities as to what the effects of the misbrewed potion might cause, and it would take a long time to divine out the counter effects without risk of causing further damage from not knowing what went wrong in the first place."

"Mr. Potter, there may be hope for you yet. 10 points to Ravenclaw and an excuse from the homework assignment. The rest of you owe two meters on what could have gone wrong in the brewing of this potion to produce a green substance that melts cauldrons. Mr. Potter, you may write two meters on the possible potions and other treatments that could be used in lieu of 'divining out' what went wrong with this particular potion. Dismissed."

Everybody moved to gather their belongings and Harry began to do the same.

"Mr. Potter, please remain behind." Harry waved his friends off and stood looking at the Potions professor.

"Mr. Potter, where did you get your extensive knowledge of Potions? I know some of that information was not contained in the first year curriculum."

"My Aunt is a French-trained Potions Mistress, Sir. She insisted that all of us be able to take the advanced syllabus before entering Hogwarts."

"Advanced syllabus. Do you think that your fame has earned you special privileges Mr. Potter?"

"No Sir. I want nothing to do with whatever misguided soul decided I should be famous because I failed to die. I certainly do not expect special treatment simply based on something that took my parents away from me."

"You are denying that what I am saying is true? Are you so arrogant that you can presume to think that?"

"No, Sir. I had rather enough of people paying attention to me because of what happened that I had to go into therapy for nearly three years after the first time I was assaulted by the wizarding commoners. And that was before I understood WHY they were attacking me."

Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. "Therapy? Commoners? Are the majority of the wizards you come across so far beneath you?"

Harry sighed. He did not want to piss off his Potions professor the first day of class, of all things. But if the good Sir needed an explanation, an explanation he would get.

"I was raised by the Black family, Professor. I was raised attending events where only the upper echelon of pureblood families attended. My best friend is a Greengrass, a Nott and a Zabini. I count among family members a Malfoy and three Lestranges. Not to mention my own siblings, Blacks by birth. You are closely associated with the Malfoy family. How else would a person raised in that circle view others?"

Severus raised an eyebrow and then narrowed his eyes. "Who I am associated with is none of your business, Mr. Potter."

Harry held back a sigh. It was very hard being respectful to a professor who seemed determined to turn the simplest of exchanges into a battle of wills. He had been raised believing people were beneath him. To a certain extent, they were. They would never have the privileges or opportunities he had. At this very minute he could have been standing somewhere in the New England region of the States attending a boarding school for pureblood wizards. But the Potter name was based HERE, in the UK, and in order to restore the honor and prestige the Potter name once brokered he had to be at Hogwarts, making the proper connections. Harry sighed inwardly and went straight to his best political training.

"Professor Snape, I presume to know nothing about your associations, or find any of them my business. I was merely stating that I am used to traveling in certain circles, and I am not comfortable traveling outside of those circles not only because of how I was raised, but because of how the ordinary public views me. The two times I was 'out' and about, and even here in the castle I have been treated like an object to be possessed, or a celebrity. I wish to be none of those things, and simply wish to study at Hogwarts to the best of my ability."

Professor Snape frowned inwardly, his eyes growing dark, but said little. "We will see about putting you on the advanced syllabus. Despite your personality flaws you are adept at Potions. Go to dinner."

Harry knew there was more going on. He had JUST met this professor! Nevertheless, he nodded. "Thank you, Professor Snape. I only hope I can rise to your expectations on the advanced syllabus." Harry then turned and walked away, missing the shocked look on Professor Snape's face.

"Did the son of James Potter just apologize to me?" Severus whispered.


	9. Adding Color

A/N. Thanks for all the reviews. Those of you who have reviewed know I take each one seriously and try and correct my mistakes. This is a longer chapter, but mainly because most of what happens here didn't have a natural break in between events. Again, reviews are lovely and be warned... it's 4am as of me typing this message, and I might end up tweaking parts of this chapter as the insomnia fog clears sometime Sunday. There will be a bit more Ron after this chapter, and once you read the chapter you'll find out why. I've decided on quite a number of the major pairings for this story, but I want them to develop naturally and not feel... forced. There will be more involvement with the Weasley Twins as the story progresses. Thanks for the reviews, and the next chapter (As it only involves winter break) will be shorter, and then we will see how second term develops. I have a general idea of where the story goes, but how it gets there is up to my muse (which is why I am awake at nearly 5am on a Sunday typing). I feel relatively pleased about this chapter, the interactions are what I want, and both dialogue and the lack thereof are done purposefully. Happy Reading!

OH, and unless something has happened in my sleep, I do not own Harry Potter or any characters recognizable from canon.

* * *

Things moved along quite well after the first week. Harry found that he liked Charms best, and Potions second best. Professor Flitwick was very knowledgeable about so many various spell work topics that the class was never dull or boring. He had yet to understand what purpose Transfiguration had except for turning non-useful things into useful things. However, Harry could not for the life of him come up with a situation where turning matchsticks into needles and rats into goblets would be useful.

Potions was fun for Harry, especially since Professor Snape barely gave him the time of day most of the time. The man had tested his ability to brew the standard potions learned in the first year, and being satisfied put Harry on the same advanced syllabus his sister had been on, and the one Daphne and Theo were also on. Except for getting instructions at the beginning of every lesson, and handing in his finished potion at the end of most lessons Professor Snape never spoke to him. However, the man had a knack for making the others in the class feel like bumbling idiots.

"Mr. Weasley! What can you tell me about the difference between ground ginger and grated ginger?"

Granger, the bushy haired girl who sat in front of Harry, was bouncing up and down like her skirt was on fire.

"Ms. Granger, I do not believe that you are Mr. Weasley, unless there is something enlightening you would like to share with the rest of the class about your personal life?" Professor Snape sneered.

The Gryffindors snickered and she dropped her hand down, her face beet red.

"Um…" the real Weasley spoke… "One is ground and one is grated?"

"Brillant, Mr. Weasley. One is ground, and one is grated. It is amazing that I doubted genius such as yours could deduce that." It was the Ravenclaws who snickered at that.

Eventually Professor Snape called on Padma, who talked about how drying ginger before grinding changed how it reacted in potions, earning 10 points to Ravenclaw for the sixty Gryffindor lost by not being able to answer the question.

The class progressed along as normal, until Harry realized his kit did not have enough boomslang fang and he would need to powder some in a hurry if he wanted to complete his potion correctly.

"Professor." Harry politely raised his hand, bringing the dreary professor over to his table.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, what is it?"

"Professor, I've just re-measured my boomslang fang and realized I won't have enough to powder to finish my potion. May I use some from the stores?"

"Certainly, Mr. Potter. " Professor Snape moved to the side to allow Harry to go to the stores and grab a couple of ounces of the needed ingredient. Professor Snape, for his part, could no longer see a mini-James Potter whenever he looked at Harry in his Ravenclaw robes. Harry was nothing like James Potter had been when he was a first year, with the exception of the entitlement he carried around. Also he differed from James by the general disdain the boy had for mixed blood students. That, however, was just barely observable for a person looking for the tells. Potter did not actively antagonize his peers, he just selectively only spoke or bothered to voluntarily work with other purebloods of elite status.

His request did not go unnoticed by Granger. She had been trying to find out for quite a few class periods why her fellow Ravenclaws did not go to the stores to get what she got at the beginning of class.

"Professor, there's no boomslang fang in this potion. Why does Potter need it?" Granger asked.

"Because Mr. Potter is brewing a more advanced potion than you are, Ms. Granger. Please pay attention to your own cauldron or I will deduct points."

"Why is he brewing a different potion?"

"10 Points from Ravenclaw! It is none of your business."

"But it's not fair! Why should HE get the chance to brew more advanced potions and the rest of us do not?"

"That will be another 10 points from Ravenclaw. If you MUST KNOW, Ms. Granger. Mr. Potter and a few of his classmates have completed requirements qualifying them for the advanced Potions syllabus."

Granger huffed and opened her mouth to protest, but her seatmate Turpin gave her a hearty glare and whispered 'Not now!'

Needless to say, after that incident Granger and her two cohorts were even more unbearable after that.

* * *

Time progressed, as it does, and Harry became immersed in his life at Hogwarts. Mabon was an official Ministry holiday, meaning that no classes took place and students were allowed to go to the ritual site in Scotland in order to complete their rituals. Only 'Dark' rites honoring the holidays were banned, and so the standard rite for Mabon was practiced. Eventually things fell into a nice routine, until Harry got the letter he had been dreading.

_Harry,_

_Now that you've settled in at Hogwarts it is time for you to continue your other lessons. Your schedule has been enclosed. Your group will meet every Friday evening. Attendance is mandatory for your ability to continue the rites. There will be others with you who you have not had training with. Know that because they are eligible to take the class, they are worthy of your time. Behave. _

_Love, _

_Aunt Cassi _

Harry, for the life of him, could not think of who would be in the lessons with him that had not previously been involved with the rites group trainings he had undergone. He would find out soon enough.

Harry sat in a classroom Friday night, moaning about missing his nap before Astronomy. Of course he was silently moaning in his head, as it wasn't proper to do so out loud. That was more Draco's speed, anyway. Crammed into the class were most of the people he expected to be there: Tracey, Blaise, Daphne, Draco, the Lestrange Twins, Theo, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Millicent, and Christophe. People he had NOT expected to see included a lumpy doughy boy named Longbottom, the Patil twins, Mandy, Susan Bones (who he had been paired with in Herbology) and two other people he was not quite familiar with. He was sitting at a table with Blaise and Theo, discussing the upcoming Quiddich match when the door opened and closed, prompting the classroom to become silent as the teacher made their way to the front of the room.

"Good evening students. I understand that you are all first year Hogwarts students who have taken the entry rites into society."

Heads nodded, and some of the more polite students answered with a 'yes sir'.

"Perfect. If any of you are aware of students who may be qualified for this class, please inform me after this session, so that they may be given the proper information. As of this point it is not necessary to have taken introductory rites, as they may be completed before the Solstice of this year and still be considered valid for your age group. It is not tradition, but exceptions can be made for those with the proper… credentials."

The man swept his wand to the left, and a stack of books appeared. "Please come up and pick up a book. Today you may sit with your friends but, as you are all going to be a part of the upper crust of our society, some forced interaction will be necessary. You will be grouped based on your birthdate for the duration of this term. It is one of your assignments to find out each others' birth dates and seat yourselves accordingly for next week."

The class rose from their chairs, and each took a book, which was actually a pack of books with a journal on top. Then they all returned to the seats they had chosen.

"The journal is for you to complete assignments in. Each class will be divided into three parts. For the first thirty minutes of class we will discuss relevant rites, rituals and responsibilities. The second part of the class will be etiquette and other such topics related to pureblood tradition. Finally there will be practical application. As you are all now enrolled in formal magical education, your responsibilities to each other and the elders of your society have changed. You are no longer children whose mistakes will be easily forgiven."

The professor continued. "You will take lessons in proper penmanship, account management, business relations, familial relations and magical contracting. Among the important topics that you will study in the years leading up to your second formal Rite are Civics, Penmanship and Ward Tending. As you will learn, the wards around one's manor are tied to the family, and as the future heads of household it will be your duty to make sure that they are in peak condition and will admit and refuse your friends and enemies, respectively."

"You will also learn that the right and wrong words can create or destroy even the most intricate spell work. We are magical. Our wording can infuse with magic , and because we are pureblood, the effect can not only change us, but affect our future generations. Many of the Old Families were destroyed because of words shouted in a heated temper. Hopefully you, as a new generation, will be able to properly come together as the elite families you are."

"Alright. Enough talking. Each one of you will introduce yourselves, including your FULL NAME, as well as your father's full name and your mother's maiden name. We will start with you. " The teacher pointed at Draco.

"My name is Draco Lucius Malfoy. My father is Lucius Abraxas Malfoy and my mother is Narcissa Vega Malfoy, nee Black."

The professor smiled. "Well done. Next, you!" He pointed at Titania.

"My name is Titania Ursa Lestrange. My father is Rodolphus Aaron Lestrange, and my mother is Bellatrix Lyra Lestrange, nee Black. "

The professor nodded his approval, and then pointed at Daphne, who was sitting at the front right corner of the room. "We will start with this young lady here, and continue on from there, now that we all have had a chance to hear exactly how your introduction should sound. Do not ignore your classmates. There will be a test on this information, just as there is a test on all information spoken about within the four walls of this classroom."

And that was how Harry found himself, a week later, sharing a desk with Neville Longbottom and Mandy Brocklehurst. Only Titania and Miranda were younger. He knew Mandy from her association with Daphne, but Neville was a mystery. He was a shy boy who often cringed during any lesson that wasn't Herbology.

Harry had to admit, Longbottom wasn't shabby. He had no frame of reference for dealing with people like Longbottom, and his Aunt's words stuck with him. They were the elites… it also didn't hurt that he had an assignment that he HAD to complete with Longbottom's assistance. And for some reason, he felt kind of bad for the only Gryffindor male worth any notice.

"Hey Longbottom! Harry called out to the boy as they were leaving Potions for dinner.

Neville turned around "Yes?"

"Want to meet up after dinner and work on our assignment?" Harry asked, shifting his bag to his shoulder.

"Yeah… we can do that… sure." Neville managed.

"Perfect. By the way, why do you get so nervous in Potions? You're pretty decent in all the other classes we have together, and your knowledge in Herbology hasn't gone unnoticed." Harry knew this from talking to Blaise when they were discussing their seat partners. Blaise was paired with the Patil twins, and so they shared mutually acquired knowledge to help them succeed in their 'extra' class.

Neville shrugged as they walked out of the dungeons and to dinner. "Professor Snape intimidates me, and I can't seem to think with him hovering over our side all the time."

Harry contemplated this. "Do you have a hard time with Potions in general, or is it just the Snape factor?"

Neville shrugged again. "I don't know. I learned some basics after my family was convinced I wasn't a Squib, but none of my family members are any good at it, so I didn't learn that much."

Harry nodded. "I guess I benefited from having an Aunt who is a Potions Mistress. How about a tutor? We can study ahead, even though I'm on the advanced syllabus. You can request to partner with Parvati so that you don't have to worry about any of the other blokes messing with you."

It had not gone unnoticed by those taking the Rites lessons that the other Gryffindor boys teased Longbottom when they thought nobody was paying attention. It certainly didn't help his performance in Potions.

"That would be great. I'm certain that they try and slip things into my potion, knowing that Snape will blame me, especially after the first few weeks of the class."

Harry nodded. He suspected the same thing. Nobody was THAT bad at Potions. "Well, we can fix that with a warding charm over your cauldron." The boys had made it to the Great Hall by this point.

Neville nodded. "Thanks Harry. You're not as bad as they say, you know?"

Harry whirled towards the boy, his eyes blazing. "What do they say?"

"Mean, nasty things. They call you pompous and a git and they say you act like you're so perfect. They compare you to Malfoy."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Just because I was raised properly? Don't pay attention to those blokes. You're better than them, you have better status, and you're taking the Rites lessons. With the right motivation you'll be twice the wizard they could ever hope to be."

Neville nodded. "Thanks, Harry. When should we meet?"

Harry thought. "8pm, in front of the library. We can work for an hour each night we don't have lessons, and it will get you out of the common room and away from those blood traitors."

Neville looked a little nervous at Harry's words, but the promise of having real friends for once was too much to pass up on. "Ok. See you there."

* * *

Grim sighed. He had been watching Hogwarts for weeks now, and no further activity could be discerned from what he could tell. He knew that the Stone was in the building, from the papers about the vault being emptied previously. The only place it COULD be was Hogwarts. Bee didn't have anywhere else he could have placed it. He lamented his choice, but in the end he arranged to meet with Croaker for further instructions.

The room he stood in was his own. It was a 'gift' from the current Lord Black, so he was told. The room was a drawing room, with dark green walls and heavy silver draperies. The furniture was a heavy mahogany antique furniture with a decidedly Victorian air. The couches were plush and also dark green with light green and silver accents. A fireplace roared on one wall, charmed to only provide light and not heat, as the weather had not quite turned cold enough to necessitate using it for heat. The rest of the small house was similar, covered in exotic dark wood and various shades of green. Even his bedroom was that same dark green, except there were accents of dark red and gold rather than silver and black. The entire house was his, and would apparently remain his even after his service for the Unspeakables had come to an end.

Grim sat in a high backed chair covered in a crushed dark green velvet, which faced the fireplace at an angle with another high backed chair. Between the two chairs was a high table bearing a silver tea service. It was the second best one in the house, the other being porcelain which had to date back to the 1700s at least. Occupying the other chair was his boss, Croaker.

"So you know it is within school, but not where?" Croaker stated simply, helping himself to a cup of tea.

"Yes, sir. Although I do have my suspicions."

Croaker nodded. "As do we all. An inside source tells us that a 'warning' was issued about the third floor north corridor. According to our map of Hogwarts that area does not have a corresponding second and first floor. He could be hiding it there."

Grim nodded. "For what purpose?"

Croaker shook his head. "Bee does not always have a set purpose, aside from his "Greater Good'. Perhaps he hopes to lure somebody to the school in hopes that they will try and take the Stone."

"Would not the wards prevent a person from entering who has a malevolent purpose towards the occupants of the school?

"Perhaps that person is already there, admitted by Bee himself, and Bee is trying to lure Emerald into making a play to stop him." Star Shine entered at that moment.

Grim shook his head. "Emerald is too young for that, is he not? Unless his genetics take the best of him he may not do as Bee wishes."

The other Unspeakables nodded. "This is very true. We have changed much. Emerald was destined to make a play for the Stone to protect it from Ruby. But we have changed the circumstances that led to that particular occurrence. The waters are cloudy on whether on not Emerald will try and stop Ruby." Star Shine spoke, calmly, sitting on the chaise lounge that occupied the room.

Grim nodded. This was his project. Emerald was his project, even though he didn't know why at this point. "Much has already changed. Even by the change in sorting much damage to Emerald has been avoided. So what do we do? Star Shine and Grey have made it clear that Emerald must not make a play to stop Ruby, at least not at this point. They cannot meet as foes this early in his development."

Star Shine smiled. "If they ever meet as foes. Bee would like no more than for that to happen, but then again Bee tried to confound the Hat, and Fate itself has he not?"

Croaker nodded. "My predecessor told me that Bee might have had a hand in Ruby's creation, if only indirectly."

Grim looked at Star Shine. "Are you suggesting that it is our goal to keep Emerald from seeing Ruby as a foe?"

"It is unclear that we should endeavor to do that." Star Shine acknowledged, accepting a cup of tea. "But whatever it may be, it is our goal to make sure that if Emerald must confront Ruby, it is not on the basis of information and training provided by Bee. No good can come from allowing Emerald to follow that path, especially since the waters are cloudy on exactly what role Bee had in Ruby's creation."

Grim bowed his head. Ruby was dangerous, and if Bee had anything to do with how Ruby got to be so dangerous it made his project even harder.

"So do we try and see if Ruby has infiltrated the school or just use our source to take the Stone ourselves?" Grim asked.

"Obsidian will monitor the situation. I have cleared him of the compulsion charms, and he will report to me whenever it is safe for him to do so."

Grim nodded. "Can he also protect Emerald from the inside?"

Croaker shook his head. "Doing so would compromise his position. Obsidian is a useful tool, but we cannot interfere too heavily in such matters. We would be no better than Bee himself if that were to occur. This is a complex project and there are hundreds of variables we cannot calculate for. It is the most important project we have taken on in decades. Failure is not an option, but we have already reached a level of success."

Grim nodded. The vision he had been shown hinged on several major factors that they had already corrected for. Every step was critical now that Emerald had entered Hogwarts.

"What are my instructions?" Grim asked.

"Continue your post at Hogsmeade. Report anything that might affect our success from your end. Only enter the school if necessary to collect evidence, but DO NOT INTERACT with anybody, and use all the spells at your disposal to do so."

Grim nodded. "Understood"

* * *

Halloween came, and like other official holidays students were permitted to leave during lunch to observe Rites in Hogsmeade. While it would have been much more traditional to observe them after dark, that was where the Headmaster drew the line.

So it was a very tired group of students who entered the Great Hall for dinner after being brought back from the Rites site in Hogsmeade. Samhain Rites were simple, a service with lighted candles and a dedication to the dead, as well as a small ceremony honoring ancient magic. Nevertheless the ceremony lasted most of the morning due to the large amount of special people that wanted to light candles before the ceremony began, including Drusilla (for Uncle Pollux) and Harry (for his parents). They all got in just in time for the Halloween feast. Harry noticed that one of the other girls, Granger perhaps, was missing and that the other two girls, the blondes, were whispering something fierce. Padma sat down next to them and narrowed her eyes when she noticed that Granger was missing. For some reason Padma took exception to how some of the other Ravenclaws treated her.

"Where's Granger?" Padma queried.

"You mean the know-it-all? Wouldn't know. We were studying in the library with the Gryffindor boys and she had to go being all uppity and treat them like idiots." Turpin scowled.

Daphne smirked. "You mean Weasley and his followers? They ARE idiots."

Lisa Turpin continued to scowl. "Still. We're trying to be friendly and she has to act like the greatest thing in the world since sliced bread!"

Daphne gave Turpin a funny look and frowned. "I thought you two were friends with her."

"She's just a bossy know-it-all. I for one am done trying to change her." Turpin scowled.

"I for one thought that you would have loved to be best friends with Granger" Miranda smirked, and smiled at Daphne for merit.

"Well we don't! I mean, she spends ALL of her time studying!" the blonde girl, Fawcett scowled.

"She IS a Ravenclaw." Mandy pointed out. "So where did she go?"

"Don't know, don't care." Turpin said, and turned back to Fawcett to continue their whispering fest.

Harry switched over to French and leaned closer to Daphne and Mira. "Don't wory about it. If anything happens tell Clearwater or Tonks. Why are you two so concerned about a mudblood anyway?"

Daphne shrugged and replied, also in French. "Granger might be a know-it-all, but I still don't like the fact that housemates of mine didn't stand up against Gryffindork prats like Weasley, especially if Granger was right."

Harry shrugged, switching to English "You and Mrs. Malfoy with your noble causes. Are you sure you're not a Gryffindor?"

Daphne swatted Harry on the head and glared fiercely at him, while Miranda scowled. "If my mum heard you talking like that she'd string you up by your big toe! Besides… I don't care about the Schweinereien, just that we don't lose house points."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Fine. I just like you too much, cousin, to have you disowned."

Miranda laughed. "Of course."

Daphne looked offended. "What about me?"

Harry smirked. "As long as you aren't going to become like Turpin anytime soon…"

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Fat chance."

The group laughed and enjoyed the feast, looking around at the glowing pumpkins and floating candles that set the proper mood. It was all broken when Professor Quirrell entered the Great Hall with a burst.

"TROLL! In the Dungeons!" He screamed. "Thought you'd like to know." The last words were almost sighed as he slumped in a dead faint.

* * *

Professor Snape was grimacing, enjoying what little of the feast he could when Quirrell burst into the Great Hall shouting about a troll.

"TROLL! In the Dungeons!" Professor Snape watched with disgust as the DADA teacher fell into a dead faint. THIS is what got passed of as competent when he was more than qualified? He saw the Headmaster rise to give instructions when he felt a feeling much like a compulsion crawl over him. Usually one did not feel a compulsion but it was like the caster wanted him to feel it. All of a sudden he found himself standing up and announcing.

"In the interest of safety, since it is not known whether or not the troll remains in the dungeons, the students should remain here where a tally of heads can be maintained while the matter is dealt with."

The entire staff looked at him like he had two heads, but it was hardly illogical. Keeping all the students in one place would prevent a panic, and would prevent students from getting into danger.

"Alright!" The Headmaster sent Severus a quick glare only he could see. "Students remain here! Seventh Year Prefects, do a roll call and report any missing children to Professors Vector and Sinistra." Professor Dumbledore announced. With that statement the other professors left, Headmaster Dumbledore levitating Quirrell out of the Great Hall.

* * *

Harry shrugged and continued his way though a double serving of orange treacle tart. The hall buzzed around him, and while he was curious as to how a troll got into the school, he felt no need to talk about it beyond the initial discussion. Facts were what they were: the troll was in, Granger was missing and the professors knew and would take care of both problems. Somehow Blaise, Titania and Tracey had found their way to the Ravenclaw table and they were not very interested in talking about the troll or the missing mudblood. For both Harry was grateful.

Finally the doors to the Great Hall opened again and Dumbledore came in, followed by Professors Snape and McGonagall. They went to the front of the room and Dumbedore raised his hands, begging for silence.

"The Troll has been taken care of." Cheers rang out in the hall. "However, one of our students was badly injured and will be taken to St. Mungos in the morning." Daphne glared at Turpin, who had the good grace to turn beet red. "Ms. Granger will be alright, and those wishing to send her condolences should direct them to her Head of House." Dumbledore fixed Harry with a look that seemed disappointed, but Harry paid the man no mind as he watched the silent debate between Turpin and Fawcett.

"Since the hallways are now clear, please return to your common rooms at this time. If there are any other developments an announcement will be made."

Harry stood up, and followed his housemates to the Ravenclaw Tower. No doubt there would be a meeting about Granger's injuries, since she was in his house.

"Seeya Blaise, Bye Tracey." Harry called out as the two lines of students split going to their proper destination.

Meanwhile Headmaster Dumbledore watched the visibly unaffected form of Harry Potter exiting the Great Hall and wondered 'What has happened?'

* * *

Life proceeded without incident. People talked about the injured Ravenclaw, and there was even talk of a suit or that the girl would be pulled from school. Nobody really knew. Soon talk shifted to the Quiddich season, which was in full swing, and the bushy haired know-it-all was all but forgotten.

Ravenclaw had a decent Quiddich team, but it was clear that Slytherin would win the House Cup again, as early in the season as it was. Harry and Drusilla continued tutoring Neville, and Harry continued his lessons, including the added Occlumency lessons to strengthen his defenses. He was never able to find out why he needed them, but his Aunt had insisted, and thus every Thursday night a special tutor came in under the guise of being his optometrist giving him special treatments for his eyesight.

The lessons were not so bad. With the extra Occlumency training Harry was able to better organize his thoughts and actually learned and remembered information faster, since he had a way of instantly calling up facts that he had read and the like. Everything proceeded in a normal fashion until mid November.

"Harry Potter?" A girl came up to his elbow at dinner, in between the actual meal and the dessert course.

"I suppose that's what my parents chose to name me." Harry jested and turned around to look at the seventh year Ravenclaw. Tonks, was her last name. All he knew about the girl was that she was vastly intelligent and a metamorphmagus. Today she was blonde. A shiny P on her robes detailed her rank as a Prefect.

"I have a note here from the Headmaster."

"Thank you, Tonks."

The girl smiled. "It's no problem." The girl walked back up to her spot at the head of the table, where she sat and picked up a fruit tart, which was one of the offerings for dessert, which had begun to appear on the table.

Harry tucked the note in his robes, not wanting to open it in the Great Hall. He would open it afterwards. Neville had detention tonight so he would not have the typical study session. The shy Gryffindor had not told him what had happened, but Harry still blamed the Weasley and his band of not so merry men for whatever had gotten the normally well behaved boy a session writing lines with Professor McGonagall.

Later that evening Harry opened the letter from the Headmaster, wondering what he had done to necessitate a note from the leader of the school.

_Mr. Potter. _

_Please meet me in my office at your earliest convenience. The password is Aero Bar. _

_Headmaster Dumbledore. _

If Harry was concerned before, he was majorly concerned now. He hadn't even lost his house points since the second week of Potions, much less gotten a detention.

He did his advanced Occlumency exercises, calming and clearing his mind. He dropped a quick note onto Theo's bed, knowing the boy was at his study session for Transfiguration with Daphne and some of his other year mates. His sessions were with Christophe and on opposite days, as he did not struggle with the subject as Theo and Daphne did. His note written he opened his wardrobe, checking that he was clean and that his hair was as neat as it was going to be. It was his first meeting with a powerful man, it would not be good to look like he had slept in his robes.

Harry climbed the stairs and gave the gargoyle the password, and climbed the stairs to the other door leading to the Headmaster's office. He knocked and the door opened on it's own accord.

"Harry m'boy! Come in! Take a seat!"

Instantly all of Harry's senses were on alert. He had never encountered a professor who exhibited such familiarity with a student, particularly one he had never taught or met in person. He was not quite sure what to make of it.

"Yes Sir." Harry sat in the proffered chair, looking around the room. He was curious about all of the knickknacks in the room, but careful enough not to be very overt about it. People, who would have been in Slytherin if they had attended Hogwarts had after all, raised him.

"Enjoying your time at Hogwarts?"

"Yes Sir." Harry continued looking at all the many portraits hanging around the office.

"Excellent, excellent. What do you think of your housemates?"

"They are fine, Sir." Harry answered. This was a very interesting conversation.

"Right, Right… m'boy. Have you had any trouble with your scar? Any nightmares?"

Harry shook his head. No need to tell the professor anything about how his head felt off whenever he was in the same room with Professor Quirrell. His aunt had promised to take him to his therapist and a healer over the Yule holidays. "No, Sir."

Since Harry wasn't looking at the Headmaster, but rather at the portrait of the most recent Headmaster Black, who was looking at him with a calculating stare, he missed the equally calculating look in the Headmaster's eyes.

"Harry, what do you know about your parent's deaths?"

Harry finally turned and looked at the Headmaster. The man's eyes were twinkling and he had a concerned look on his face.

"My parents died protecting me from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Harry figured that since Dumbledore had been on the opposing side in that particular battle of wills, calling the man the Dark Lord like his family did was not a smart move. "The house was under a Fidelus charm but the Secret Keeper betrayed them and he attacked on Samhain, 1981."

Headmaster Dumbledore could not keep his eyebrows from arching slightly when Harry called Halloween by its proper Wizard name.

"Ah. What do you know of Voldemort?"

Harry sighed. So it was to be an interrogation. Fine. "He was a blood purist who believed that Purebloods were the only ones worthy of participation in the magical world. He believed that both muggles and muggle-borns… (here Harry almost slipped and called them mudbloods) should either be purged or at the very least be denied access to the magical world. He had followers, Death Eaters, who conducted raids and tortured non-purebloods, as well as who they called blood traitors. My parents fell into the latter category for their belief in equality regardless of blood status. They fought against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and were particularly targeted because of it. "

Dumbledore looked shocked. "How did you come across that information?"

This was an easy question, finally. "My aunt and uncle believe in education foremost. When I asked them what had happened to my parents I was told how they had died and why. They believe that it is better to know the whole truth rather than a version of the truth. They encourage all the children to be fully informed."

The Headmaster's eyes stopped twinkling. "What else do you know?"

"I somehow survived that night, due to some kind of protection my mother cast on me when the attack began. The story goes that it was that protection that destroyed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I went to live with my aunt and uncle, per a pre-arranged agreement."

The Headmaster nodded. "Your mother died by giving the greatest gift, her love. What would you say if I told you that Voldemort is not truly dead?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, that's unfortunate. Most people assume he is dead." Harry kept the other question in his head. 'How would YOU know, Professor?'

"That they do, Harry. Voldemort sought immortality, and it is believed he has found a way to avoid death itself. What do you know about the Philosopher's Stone?"

Harry remembered reading a bit about it in his History classes, the ones before coming to Hogwarts. "It can be brewed to create an elixir that allows the drinker to live forever, as long as they can continue brewing the elixir."

The Headmaster smiled. "Ah, Good m'boy. You do rather fit in well to Ravenclaw. What do you suppose might happen if Voldemort were to get his hands on this stone?"

Harry frowned mentally. He did not like where this was going. "I suppose if he HAS hands, Sir, he would try and drink it to restore himself to his former state."

The Headmaster frowned. When it was clear that Harry was finished speaking he voiced his concerns, in a fashion. "Aren't you afraid he will come after you again?"

Harry shrugged. "The muggles have a saying, and I believe that it's said in this world too. Once bitten, twice shy. He has no reason to come after me if I pose no threat to him, and revenge has a dangerous way of coming back to haunt a person."

The Headmaster fought to remain calm. This is what he was afraid of. The boy felt no loss for his parents, and felt no need to find revenge on their killer! Maybe the Longbottom boy…

"May I be excused, Headmaster? I still have a meter left on my Potions essay on uncommon names for British Potions to finish before my next class." Harry looked up at the Headmaster.

"Yes, yes. Of course! Know that my door is always open, Harry."

"Yes sir." Harry rose, and walked out of the office, deep in thought.

The Headmaster watched the retreating form of the Ravenclaw first year and was deep in thought himself. 'At least he's not in Slytherin.'

* * *

Harry made it back to the common room with a half an hour to spare before curfew, and an hour to spare before bedtime. He found Theo sitting on his bed playing Exploding Snap with Christophe. The other three boys were sitting at the desk on their side, working on their Potions homework.

Theo looked up as Harry entered. "What did the Headmaster want? You in any trouble?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope. It was the oddest conversation about my parents." Harry sat down on the bed and cast the simple privacy charm he had read about in his mother's notes. The spell tingled around the three boys and Harry continued. "He asked me a lot of questions about the Dark Lord and the Philosopher's Stone."

Theo thought deeply. Christophe looked at Harry and spoke. "Do you suppose that's what he's keeping in the castle on the third floor?"

Harry looked stunned. "Why would he do that?"

Christophe shrugged. "I was in Gringotts the day it was attacked, and overheard that giant Hagrid asking to be taken to the vault that got raided. We all know it was empty from the papers, but what if Dumbledore had Hagrid bring whatever was in that vault here?"

Harry raised a questioning eyebrow. "That's a lot of conjecture. First we must assume that the vault is not a spare vault of Hogwarts'. Second we must assume that it was not a private vault of either Hagrid's or Dumbledore's. Third we must assume that the stone was even AT Gringtotts, much less in the vault that was attacked. I've got quite a lot on my plate with classwork and preparation for the Yule Rites without worrying about the affairs of grown wizards."

Theo nodded. "Quite right. Are you taking the regular rites or the special ones?" And by special, Theo meant Dark.

"Special. It will be my first set of special rites and they require a special level of concentration. What about you?"

"Special" both boys intoned, and the three boys smirked at each other.

"Yeah. The whole lot of us are going to Tenem Moor. Malfoy Manor would be too obvious, and it's the only place with a ritual site large enough for the four of us to do our portion. Dru and Tristain have their own rites, and I'm sure that Daphne, Blaise and Pansy will be coming too."

Theo nodded. "We're doing ours at the Davis house with Tracey and Roger."

Harry smiled. "Yeah, with the twins, Draco and I doing them together just makes more sense, seeing as we're all family."

"You do have a large family, Potter." Christophe joked.

Harry shook his head. "I rather like my family, for the most part. It's actually fun when Draco isn't being a prat."

They all laughed, but little did they know that Harry would have a bigger shock, as would the Black family in general when the Yule Rites came along.


	10. Burning Candles, Adding Links

The rest of the term came and went, as school terms usually do, with the common fervor of exam taking. Soon Harry was back on the Hogwarts Express headed for a winter break filled with parties and his first full Rite at Yule. It was when Harry was packing that he discovered something he hadn't even known he had missed.

Theo leaned against his bedpost, his single duffle already packed, charmed and waiting. He was watching Harry pack a small bag of essential items he wanted to take with him over the holidays, a task which had already taken the black haired boy half the previous night. Running out of regular conversation topics while Harry fumbled through his school trunk, Theo turned to more obscure topics.

"You're getting right chummy with Longbottom, I see."

Harry shrugged. "He was my partner for our Rites lessons, along with Mandy. His parents knew my parents. Aurors, the pair of them. In St. Mungos care of Mira's uncle. He's actually an interesting guy once you get past the nerves."

Theo let out a low whistle. "He's still a strange one to be taking the Rites."

Harry shook his head. "The Rites themselves are nothing but tradition. Susan Bones is taking them and her aunt is a top ranked official in the DMLE. Bones doesn't buy into any of the stuff we believe in, but she still takes the Ministry approved Rites. Why should Neville be any different?"

Theo frowned. "That's what confuses me about Abbot, Longbottom and Bones in particular. All three of them are as pure as the driven snow, but they DON'T believe in blood supremacy. Yet they take the Rites that only purebloods are allowed to take?"

Harry laughed. "Stop thinking about it. It's all about tradition. They're taking the Rites, that's good enough reason to associate with them. The Rites classes don't come cheap, so taking them means you have the gold to spare. So what if they're anti Dark? None of them are out and out blood traitors."

"Sins of the Father, Harry. Longbottom and Bones both fought against the Dark Lord. Bones' parents died for their indiscretion and Longbottom's parents were driven insane for withholding information."

Harry shrugged, putting his Potions books into the small bag he would take home with him over the hols. "So did my parents. Where do you think I got this scar? Falling into a well?"

Theo looked confused. "Well, no. But you're different."

Harry shook his head. "Whatever. Hey what's this?" Harry pulled up the tiny shrunken chest from where he had hidden it. "I totally forgot about this after I got out my mum's Charms notes!"

Theo came over and looked at the tiny shrunken trunk. "An Inheritance Trunk! Nice."

Harry turned to Theo, stunned. "You know what this is?"

Theo nodded. "Pureblood tradition. Most parents and grandparents put one together for at least the heir of the family in order to pass down family secrets. If the time for ascension comes and the parents are still alive, the trunk is opened in a small ceremony and the parents go over the contents with the child. Strange you got one now, usually they don't become accessible until you turn 15."

Harry nodded. "I've got two. My parents wanted to give me one before I started Hogwarts, and there's a second one still in my trust vault." Harry unshrunk the trunk and put it on his bed. He opened it and noticed the letters he had missed before.

Theo smiled a rare smile. "That's nice. What are those?"

"Letters I couldn't open before. Didn't even think about them once I got to Hogwarts."

"Couldn't open?"

"My Aunt thinks there was a timed sticking charm set up to only open after I got to Hogwarts. I tried everything, even ripping the envelope off. The bloody thing would just repair itself and still be sealed. I wonder if I can get it open now. Harry went for the largest envelope first, thinking that maybe it was a longer letter about his time at Hogwarts.

The envelope opened, revealing not the one letter he expected but four. One was addressed to R. Lupin, the second to S. Snape, the third to A. Bones and the last was written to a scribble. Harry couldn't make heads or tails of who that letter was addressed to, and neither could Theo.

"So what are you going to do?"

"S. Snape is either Professor Snape or somebody related to him. I can give him that letter, but I prefer to owl it to him once I'm safe at home. I can get my aunt to stop by the Ministry to give Madam Bones her letter, since I have to go by anyway for our Civics assignment over break, and our owl can find this Lupin person."

"You're just going to hand over letters, even though you don't know what they say?"

Harry shrugged. "They're not my letters. Not my job to monitor what my parents write in letters, even if they have crossed the Veil."

Theo sighed. "So you almost done packing? I swear you're a girl with all the stuff you need."

Harry rolled his eyes. "We have a lot of homework to do, and I don't want to get behind. Without the Granger mudblood the Fawcett girl is just average, but still. Less competition is still competition. The girl's no slouch at Charms theory. "

"You pulled out top marks in Potions didn't you?"

"Nope. Draco."

Theo's eyes popped out of their socket. "How?"

Harry chuckled. "Extra Credit. But I've got top marks in Charms. Mira's got me beat in Transfiguration, and Longbottom pulled out top marks in Herbology."

Theo smiled. He was in the top five percent, but didn't pull out any ultimate top marks. "What about DADA?"

"Titania. You don't honestly think that the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange is a slouch at DADA? All of them were doing fake battles since they could form words."

Theo laughed at the image of a baby Titania pointing a chubby finger at her sister and trying to cast an Unforgivable. Then he paused. "But Bellatrix was in jail until the girls turned seven."

Harry shrugged. "Who raised them until then?"

Theo paused, feeling foolish. "OH. Right. Come ON you've got to be done by now!"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I'm done." He hefted his back onto his shoulder as Theo did the same, and they walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast before the train left.

* * *

The train ride was uneventful, and Harry enjoyed the time he got to spend hanging out with his closest friends without interlopers. Soon he was back at the Manor, back to his wonderful single room and his private bath, and the freedom to wear whatever he pleased. Sure there would be parties and Rites coming up pretty soon, but he had Boxing Day to look forward to: his closest friends, and only his closest friends, for a whole day.

Harry never thought he would have that to look forward to, but being placed in separate houses from one of his best mates was hard. He didn't have the satisfaction of telling both Blaise and Theo how the day went, or having Blaise there to snicker as a mudblood made a foolish mistake. Tracey and Daphne couldn't curl up in the corner of the Ravenclaw common room and make fun of the other girls, namely Turpin and Fawcett. The two girls annoyed him with their constant whispering, and they were even worse after Granger left for the rest of the term.

All in all, sometimes he wished he had been sorted Slytherin, but he was just as happy to be a Ravenclaw. Nobody gave him evil looks like he had seen his housemates give Slytherins, and there was the extra bit about not being hexed on sight by some errant Gryffindor over some imagined slight. From what Dru and Tristan had told him, the number of Potions 'accidents' had reduced considerably when the class had been switched school-wide from Gryffindor/Slytherin to Gryffindor/Ravenclaw.

That Harry could imagine. Ron Weasley had lost his house 250 points over the course of the first term due to his attempts to tamper with other people's potions, his included. The fact that Neville's potion production had improved tenfold after warding his cauldron was proof enough. Daphne had enlisted the help of NEWT Charms and Potions students to impove the spell to cause a reaction to the errant hand that tried to add ingredients to a cauldron not thiers. Ravenclaws helped because it meant extra research. Slytherins helped because it meant that they could tamper with the potions of others and not risk retaliation. Even Hufflepuffs helped, because it meant protection from Gryffindor pranksters and Slytherin meanies. How Daphne managed to get all of those NEWT level students from different houses to work together, Harry wished he knew.

Harry contemplated these things and more as he took a long relaxing soak in his private bath. To have five solid days of not having to wake up at the crack of dawn just to have the bath to himself was rewarding, even if it meant trading in his nights for the various dinner parties and galas he would attend for the Yule season.

Tonight was the first of these. Less prominent families simply held holiday parties with canapés, sparkling grape juice for the younger set, and cocktails and champagne for the older set. The more elaborate the party, the more prominent the family, was the rule.

So soon Harry, after reading through the next chapter of _Most Potent Potions II, Modern Potions Innovations,_ was selecting an outfit to wear to the Davis' house. He went with a silk emerald shirt, steel gray wool slacks, and a dark grey robe lightly lined with dark lynx fur. He chose black dragon hide boots, shined with Hunnington's Best and his best silver robe clasp. It was understated, just formal enough to look proper without being an overt display of wealth and status. There would be enough of that posturing when it came time to go to the Ministry Gala and the Malfoy's event.

Harry stepped out into the hallway and saw his twin sisters prepping for their winter party debut with Drusilla. Drusilla was wearing a dark green evening gown and dark ballroom slippers. Her hair, which seemed to have gotten even lighter blonde, was pinned back with two clasps embedded with diamond and emerald chips, and one of her Black Family pendants hung from her neck. Harry noticed it wasn't the bejeweled one she had gotten for her birthday, but the simple solid silver one hanging from a silver chain.

The twins were wearing dark ruby dresses that looked darling on them. Crushed red velvet on top, knee length satin with black tuille petticoats. They each also had their first pendants hanging from their necks, and black satin shoes. In other words, the two black haired 9 year olds looked like the picture of Pureblood perfection.

"Hey Dru, ready to go?"

Dru looked up from her painstaking inspection of Ophelia and Cordelia (Phee and Cord) and smiled. "Yeah, they look good and they know what to do. I shouldn't worry about it."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "It's just a small gathering at the Davis house. Phee and Cord have no chance in embarrassing you in front of anybody, unless you fancy her brother?"

Dru scowled. "Not in this lifetime. But still, people will be there, and people like to talk. I'd hate for the twins to have their first party be a failure when we know full well that certain wizards are known for their long memories."

Ophelia scowled, tossing a dark ebony pin curl back and forth as she shook her head. "We are standing right here, gits."

Harry smiled. "Get used to it, people will be doing that all night. Did you girls say goodnight to Orion? He's probably awful bitter that he's the only one left behind with the Governess these days."

Cordelia smirked. "We said goodbye alright." Ophelia sprouted a twin smirk and Harry suddenly worried deeply for the young scion.

Dru smiled sweetly, which was almost as bad from the Slytherin girl, and walked towards the stairs. "Mother and Father will be waiting, we shouldn't tarry."

They walked down the stairs and met Cassi and Orion Sr. at the front foyer. Orion was splendid in black and pewter, while Cassi shone in a light silver gown.

"Shall we go?" Orion looked at his children. He really considered Harry a son, even though the boy was not formally adopted in order to preserve any claims to his Potter inheritance. However, if a person familiar with the Black family cared to look beyond the Potter nose and his mother's eyes, they could see that the set of his jaw and cheekbones was very much a Black family trait. Sure, he got his messy hair and slightly shorter than average height from the Potters, but those certain other features meant that he could never be disclaimed as a Black descendant.

They arrived right in the middle of groups Flooing into the party. The Davis house could not be claimed as small, per se. It was an old family home, built in the early 1700s and actually had separate quarters for the four house elves that served the family. Mr. Davis was bedecked in black accented with green, while his wife, a ravishing beauty with dark hair and grey eyes, wore a light green gown studded with tiny crystals that caught the candelight in a most fetching way. Tracey's curly locks were piled on top of her head, and she wore a Slytherin green gown with silver accents. Phillip, a Ravenclaw two years above Harry, wore dark blue dress robes with lighter blue accents, and Catherine, the youngest daughter, wore a purple dress and similarly had her golden curls piled in a loose manner on her head. She was the same age as the twins, and enjoyed hosting her second official party at the home.

The party was splendid, good conversation among close family members, as the invitation list had been loosely intimate, only close friends and family members allowed. The boys talked Quiddich and about the upcoming qualifiers for Puddlemore and Chudley, as both teams were in desperate need of reserve players. The girls talked about whatever tickled their fancy, although Harry did notice them giggling more often as they eyed the group of boys from across the room.

All in all it was a good start to the Yule season.

* * *

December 23rd

Harry looked at himself in the mirror once more to make sure everything was in place. Today would be his first Yule Rite, and he wanted everything to be perfect. As was customary, he wore all black. A black shirt that was a silk and cotton blend and wool pants, with special black dyed dragon hide boots. Even his robe clasp was polished onyx with his two family seals on either side. Today he was acting as a representative of both the Black and Potter families. As such, custom was that he wear both family crests to represent them at the ceremony. Cassi would be wearing both her Black and Fitzgerald crests, and he guessed that Draco and Aunt Narcissa would wear the Black and Malfoy crests. He adjusted his cloak once more, and went over the Latin he would need for the ceremony.

At sunset the combined families of Black, Malfoy and Lestrange came together at the family site. Everybody wore hoods, as was the custom before presenting one's name to the fire in preparation for the actual Rite. The mood was solemn, and one of the elders began setting up the ritual fire. Soon everything was prepared and the eldest person of the family, at this moment Cassiopeia Black I, called for the youngest member of the family to present his name. Harry took his bundle of herbs and whispered his dedication to them before walking to the burning fire pit.

"I am Harry James Potter, here to honor my family and my self." Harry dropped the bundle into the fire, which flared blue, accepting his opening offering. He dropped his hood and bowed to Cassiopeia and gave her the standard opening greeting for the Rite.

The twins were first, saying the proper words and casting their offerings into the fire, one by one. Then it was Harry's turn.

"May your days be long and your magic strong, Matriarch of the House Black." He then turned on his heel and walked back to his place.

Next came Draco, then Drusilla, then Tristian, and while everybody expected Ursula Prewitt to be the next one in line, as well as the woman herself, she was restrained by the woman standing next to her. The woman nodded to the other form standing on her right and the slight form of a witch made its way to the fire.

"I am Nymphadora Druella Tonks. I have forsaken the name of my father who is unworthy of this honor, and I present myself as Nymphadora Druella Black. I have reclaimed my proper heritage and I am here to honor my proper family and my self." Nymphadora then dropped two items into the fire, the first was a scroll, and the second one was a bundle similar to Harry's. The flame flared purple and then blue, before returning to its proper golden hue.

Needless to say people were shocked, but because the fire flashed the appropriate colors nobody said anything.

She then dropped her hood, reflecting pale blonde hair of a respectable length, with no traces of any crazy colors. She then spoke the rest of the opening rites and turned around to find her place back in line.

Things continued, as family members went up, and soon even the oldest member had been dedicated to the fire. Then the real Ritual began.

In Latin: "You are all called and chosen by blood and magic for the cause we have come to honor today. In purity and magic we come together to honor the gift we have been born into.

We honor Magic in its purest form, blessed to be the wielders of pure magic. No distinction shall we draw as wielders of magic. We shall not dishonor our magic by binding it to form. We shall be balanced in our casting, balanced in out study, and honest in our interaction with Magic. Light and Dark are limits mortals put on Magic. We honor not the laws of mortals but the laws of Magic herself. We bind ourselves to all magic, and swear upon our lineage to uphold all of the ways of our Forefathers. We will forever hold ourselves in purity of blood and magic, as our ancestors did, so shall our descendants be. "

"Our duty is to magic first, and users of magic who limit Magic for their own purpose shall be cast out from among us, lest they become a cancer that takes away what our Forefathers and Magic herself have granted."

Candles appeared in front of everybody. They too were black, but each had runes inscribed on them. Harry took hold of his for the next part of the ritual, holding the candle in his wand hand. Once everybody had taken a candle the chant continued.

"This candle represents my magic. The burning represents my desire to use my magic in the way that it was intended. I swear to protect my magic from those who would deny me full access to the power Magic has granted me. I will protect Magic in her purest form, and destroy those who violate Her laws. As the sun tracks across the Earth, as winds blow and rivers flow, I will protect Her from the destruction of her true balance. As the season grows long, and on this night which last beyond any other, strengthen my magic to do Her will. So Mote It Be."

The runes glowed gold as twilight faded into darkness, and once again each member of the family, from youngest to oldest, lit their candles on the Ritual fire, and set them in the candelabra to burn through the lengthy night. Once that was finished everybody went to the warming tent for silent reflection. Nobody was allowed to talk until dawn, when the candles would stop burning and the closing of the ritual could take place. It was a powerful silence, with chairs and beds for the old or the sleepy, but mostly the family members kept to themselves, not daring to breathe too loudly lest the spirits invoked in the ritual be disturbed.

The night was indeed long, but that's what made the ritual for Winter Solstice so taxing. Having to stay up the entire night and not eat or make noise while the ritual magic took hold. Harry didn't find it too taxing, as he sat and watched the stars, having slept most of the day. He looked at his sister, who had also slept most of the day. She was used to being quiet, and stared up at the stars, occasionally going to the fire pit to watch it being handled by Cassiopiea I, the only one allowed to tend the fire as the Ritemaster. Being quiet was hard for Harry, especially when he wanted to talk to Mira, or anybody for that matter. He especially wanted to find out about the newcomer. The girl he had barely met before, Nymphadora, sat off to the distance hugging her knees. Sometimes she looked up at the stars in their dazzling glory, but mostly she simply stared off into the dark, in her own deep contemplation. The night seemed to drag on forever. However soon it was over, and dawn cracked the sky. As the sun rose everybody gathered their candle stumps from the candelabra and resumed their places to close the ritual.

"We have seen to our honesty, our magic thusly pledged. So Mote It Be."

* * *

December 24th

Tonight was the Black Family Dinner, the official Yule dinner that only members of the Black family would attend. The party would take place the day after Boxing Day, two days before the Ministry Gala and three days before the final party of the season, the one at Malfoy Manor. The Malfoys traditionally hosted the final party of the season, to send the children off to Hogwarts or wherever they were continuing their education, and this year would not be any different.

However, tonight everybody would be talking about last night, the reentry of Nymphadora to the family fold. Nobody was foolish, even Harry knew that his housemate had to have completed certain Rites in order to partake in the Rites she had just bound her magic to last night. She would be the primary topic of conversation.

The dinner itself was at Cassiopiea's house. It was the most prominent Black property with two libraries, a small ritual chamber, and even a large dungeon area. It was the Black Ancestral Home, where, on that very spot, the Black family began it's ascent into pureblood infamy sometime in the 800s. The Manor, really a small castle, had been built up and improved upon over the centuries, and the dining room the sat in, one of three, was grand indeed, with portaits and enchanted mirrors lining the walls, floating candles, and everything gilded in silver, the ceiling itself inlaid with silver, gold, marble and fine jewels which were arranged to show the Four Formal Rites of the Seasons. It was the very epitome of extravagance, but such an old grand house should be exactly that. The table that ran down the middle was laid with the best in Victorian formal dinner service, and the house elves wore the Black Family Crest on well starched towels. Each place was charmed so that whenever the person at the Head of the Table spoke, everybody could hear. The charms even overrode privacy charms, so that there was not even a small chance that important statements by the head of the family might be missed.

After the dedication of the food, the questioning began.

"Druella, tell us how you came to be Nymphadora's 'sponsor'." Cassiopiea sat at the head of the table, waited on by her own personal house elf.

"It has been a secret I have kept since she turned eleven. One of her housemates asked why she was not taking the Rites classes that other purebloods took, and she informed them of her heritage. Sometime in October I got an owl from her, asking if there was a way for her to take the rites as a halfblood. I told her that she had to play her cards right, so to speak. I told her of the Consession of 1066 and the provision in the Magna Carta that allowed for halfbloods to claim their pureblood ancestry through a series of rituals that were decidedly frowned upon by the Ministry."

"They aren't banned outright?" Lucretia queried.

This time Lucius shook his head. "Nobody bothered to attempt it, and now there would be such an outcry against such a stunt that the Minister dare not defy centuries of precedent."

Druella nodded. "The rituals are Dark, at least by today's standards. Nobody would even attempt them unless they were serious. So she began them, under my supervision. She's my granddaughter. The sins of her mother need not be her burden if there is a way to undo them. But she dared not publicly participate in the Rites until she was a legal adult. She is such now, and thus she can practice her Rites in the open. However, as last night proved, she has taken the important rites, including the Rite of Ascension."

Nods of understanding crept through the room. Druella continued.

"She did not want her mother to know what she had done until it was too late to reverse the process. Having her birthday during the Yule season made things easy. She could to her birthday Rites under my supervision. I wrote her note allowing the Hogwarts Ritemaster to oversee her holiday dedications. I simply made up the excuse that I wanted to see my granddaughter, and Andromeda allowed it. My daughter thought that I had finally come to accept her marriage to that mudblood."

The adults laughed at the very Slytherin ploy of the elder Black woman.

"But Nymphadora, why would you do it?"

The girl, who was still sporting blonde hair, but with a dark purple streak just near her jaw line, looked serious for once. "I felt deprived of my heritage, my lineage. There were not many halfbloods or muggleborns in my year, so most of them took the Rites. Most of them took the FULL Rites. At first I just didn't want to be left out. Then as Grandmother began teaching me the family history, I realized how much I was missing out on because of my parents."

Nobody disagreed. Nymphadora's class was one of the first ones to benefit from the fertility potions brewed for the benefit of the pureblood households in order to allow previously barren women the ability to produce sires to continue family lines. The sheer percentage of purebloods to others had risen to a respectable 1/3+ in that year, and had increased to be a slim majority by the time the current first years entered school. At the growing rate, purebloods would outnumber halfbloods 2 to 1 in the coming generation, provided that all the current pureblood children married purebloods and produced at least three heirs.

"So you have renounced your father's name." Cassiopeia I asked.

"Yes ma'm. I have filed with the Ministry as of my birthday on the 26th to have my name officially changed to Black. The approval letter should come to you by Boxing Day, as the head of the family. As I am an adult my mother need not sign it or even see it."

"But to turn your back on your Mother!" Lucretia looked slightly horrified.

"I lose my mother, but look at what I gain. Even though I lose my mother, I have much to gain. Even if I had regrets at one time, the barest of chance to be accepted by my whole family mattered to me. My mother will be disappointed, my father furious, but if Great Aunt Cassi signs the seal to those papers, I am a Black, and nobody will be able to take that away from me again. I did not have a choice in how I was born, but to have a proper place in the world when I graduate is important. In time, even if my father does not accept what I have done, what I have had to do in order to restore my status, my mother may forgive me."

The questioning continued, but Harry tuned it out in favor of the roast goose on his plate. He was halfway through the course of the meal when a gong rang out, and he looked up.

"Attention, family. Through trial and flame our lost daughter has been returned to us. Let us welcome Nymphadora Druella Black, a true member of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black."

Glasses were raised, toasts given, and Harry gained a cousin, although he might have in the same measure lost one forever.

* * *

A/N PLEASE READ AS EXPLAINATION OCCURS BELOW

Druella is the mother of Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa. This would make Mrs. Rosier Black Nymphadora's maternal grandmother. Since it is obvious in Nymphadora's name that Andromeda kept up the tradition of giving her child a pureblood name at least that maybe she took it one step further and gave the girl her own mother's name as a middle name. Persons to whom J.K. Rowling has not given death dates for will be assumed to have remained alive for the duration of this story.

The rites ritual is considered "Dark" because it references the use of ALL magic, with no deference to what type of magic it is. This includes magic labeled Dark by the Ministry. So while it might not involve blood or sacrifices, it does require that the user be balanced in learning magic, namely learning ALL spells, regardless of intent or label used by the Ministry. Light families would never promise their magic to such a thing, thus the separation of rituals. Just assume that the "Light" rituals make liberal use of 'good magic' and 'integrity in casting' and no references to purity of blood being a requirement for magic.

I enjoy reviews. Next up, Harry back at Hogwarts for the Spring term.


	11. The Chain Gets Longer

Sorry for the delay. Work finished up in a flurry of things needing to be done, and school started yesterday. I will keep this updated, and I get around certain problems with the story the pace should pick up rather nicely. For me, for the way I want to write this story, the first two years at Hogwarts are the most difficult.

Disclaimer: This will not be an Elemental-Harry story. It will involve him being deeper involved in studying spells beyond what Hogwarts teaches about them, but... well you'll see.

Thanks for all the people who reviewed! I do appreciate them all. In the last chapter Dora goes by Nymphadora because she's trying to get in good with her mother's family, and shortening her name at such a formal occasion is frowned upon.

I think that's it for disclaimers.

* * *

January 10, 1992

_The various rituals are cast in order to bring balance to one's magic. Winter Solstice has the longest night, Summer Solstice the longest day, so the ritual is designed to recharge that portion. Eastern cultures call it Yin and Yang. But it is much more than that. Each season has a ritual that recharges a portion of magic. _

_This is not to say that a person has no magic on their own or that wizards who do not perform the rituals are weaker. Only that the Rituals, when properly used with study and practice, help a witch or wizard be better in tune with their magic, and the magic around them. Spells become easier, wards respond better, both in the building and the falling, and the spell crafter has a better foundation to work with. _

_Magic has two facets, Light and Dark, which form the whole of what Magic is. The Full Ritual (the Special Ritual) acknowledges both halves as being a part of Magic. To only acknowledge one half is to be weaker and unfulfilled in Magic's purpose. _

_Just as Magic has two halves, she can be broken up further. The seasons each have an element, and the oldest practitioners of magic understood how each season and each element work to produce results. While today users of magic have divined how to craft wands to make channeling magic easier, true practitioners understand that even modern spells can be based on the elements. Earth spells are grounding, Air spells help levitate, Fire spells burn and consume, while Water spells replenish and renew. _

"Hey Harry!"

Harry looked up from the book he had been reading, wanting more information about why the different rituals were so important. Daphne scowled from across the row.

"I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes. We're almost there. Might want to put your robe on."

Harry looked around, and everybody else had thrown his or her robes on already. He tucked the book back into his bag and pulled his robe from over the chair where he had stashed it, slipping his arms into the sleeves. The noise had built up in the corridor, the sound of students scrambling around trying to get prepared in the last minute could be heard given the relative silence of their compartment. In due course the train pulled in at Hogsmeade and the group sped off for a new term at school.

* * *

Harry sat on his bed, about a week into the new term, and began looking through the books his parents had sent him. Today was the ninth time Professor McGonagall had compared him to his father in Transfiguration, and so maybe his father had been a whiz at it. At first he had thought that the professor was just blowing hot air, since it was clear during class that Harry saw no use in the class. He didn't volunteer information, and although he always managed the final product, his boredom while doing so was probably evident on his face when he pulled out his Charms book or something else to read while his classmates continued to struggle and work.

The subject did not really interest Harry, but he could not be accused of being a slacker in any of his work. It was just that he still, after a term of working on turning random things into other random things, could not see a purpose for it all. Why turn one thing into a different thing when it could be purchased and delivered within the day? His Uncle Orion did that all the time.

However, a quick glance through his father's more advanced notes showed him possibilities he had not even imagined. His father had been an Animagus, according to the notes. They must have been from his sixth year at Hogwarts, from the classes he discussed and the fact that none of his notes indicated he had graduated, but they did indicate NEWT level Transfiguration. Harry had read about Animangi for his History classes before Hogwarts, but they basically talked about famous wizards and what their forms were, not about the process itself. He also learned that combining Charms and Transfiguration was common advanced magic for Aurors. That little gem was in his father's class notes, and Harry knew that his dad had been an Auror after graduating Hogwarts.

It interested Harry to no end, that the end result of Transfiguration could be useful and not just a parlor trick. He vowed to himself that he would study harder and perfect his Transfiguration. Being an Animagus could be bloody useful, after all.

He was flipping through the notes when a piece of paper floated out, clearly not a part of the regular notebook. It was a note, written quickly, and addressed to him.

_Harry, _

_Hope this note finds you well, and I hope you found ALL the compartments this trunk has to offer. Good luck, and be careful! _

_Dad. _

Harry looked from the note to the trunk, which was currently sitting on the end of his bed. He knew that the trunk had one large compartment filled with books, and a set of drawers in the right hand side which had contained loose pieces of paper, also notes his parents had written. He leaned over the trunk, trying to see where another compartment could be hidden when he saw it. The seam along the back wood of the trunk looked off. Harry ran his hands along it, and sure enough, another compartment popped out from the back of the trunk. He opened it and felt silky material within.

"An Invisibility Cloak!" Harry whispered to himself, glad that his roommates were off in the library or out on the grounds involved in the Slytherin-Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor-Hufflepuff snowball fight. It had been a free-for-all, but trust Draco and Theo to team up against Weasley and that Macmillan boy. He had been outside, but wanted at least a few minutes to study by himself, so he slipped inside during a lull in the fighting. The arrival of the Weasley twins during that same lull ensured that the snow would continue to fly. It was almost an official match, the way that older students had set up warming stations and the like.

Harry examined the cloak, as best as he could since it was invisible, and could find no holes, but discovered that it was large, sized for an adult male. His hand disappeared completely under it, as did his legs and the part of the bed the cloak was sitting on. Not even a peep of what was under the cloak could be seen.

"Wow. I wonder if my dad had this in school." He mused to himself. Harry folded it carefully, and went to put it in his currently unused bureau drawer. It would certainly be useful one day, but his dad's notes were definitely more interesting. Maybe he even mentioned how he came across an invisibility cloak whose charms lasted so long without being recast. It had to be expensive, but if his school trust vault was any indication it wasn't like his dad had ever been hurting for money.

Harry sat back on the bed, and lost himself to the world of advanced Transfiguration.

* * *

Obsidian sat glaring at the man who was currently calmly drinking tea in his private chambers. Didn't this man know he had papers to grade?

"Obsidian. You do understand that we cannot allow Bee to maintain ownership of the object?"

Obsidian nodded. The man spoke in code whenever he was on grounds at Hogwarts. Everything had eyes and ears in this place, even though Obsidian had taken care to make sure that the only portraits in his private rooms and office were former Slytherins.

"Have the trials been set up?"

"They have." Obsidian knew what trials the man was speaking about. "Although any first year could pass them with enough brainpower. Honestly. Any child raised as a wizard knows that music calms a cerebus, Devil's Snare hates light and fire, and the basics of chess. The only ones of concern are mine, the keys and the troll. But even the keys are not charmed against being summoned, and Bee, as you call him, insisted that the potions actually not be poisonous. He also wrote the clue himself, and anybody who is even a quarter decent at Potions can figure it out."

The man nodded sadly. "That is what I was afraid of. Bee has intended that that particular gauntlet be cleared by a first year boy."

"Emerald, your target." Obsidian guessed. A nod was his only answer to the affirmative. "But you do not intend for him to posses the object either."

"No. For as long as possible we must keep Bee and Emerald apart. Emerald is still young, impressionable. We must prevent Emerald from being swayed by Bee, for the sake of us all."

Obsidian nodded. "Well the boy certainly has made the right friends for that, and apparently his family arranged for lessons to correct mental deficiencies that might affect his vision." Obsidian used a variant of ASL to indicate the words mind and shield, knowing that even if listening and watching charms were focused on him, that particular combination would be lost on anybody not privy to the code.

"Perfect. That will go far. Is he in lessons with the others still?"

Obsidian nodded. "He is. My snakes tell me he was partnered with your sub-target, who is more vulnerable because of his sorting."

The man nodded. "Aquamarine?"

The man nodded and leaned back. While Emerald was his primary objective, all variables had to be accounted for.

"The sub-target cannot do the trial. That opens a whole new set of variables that our team cannot possibly correct for in the time we have left. Prevent it from falling in the wrong hands, and one of our team members will find a way to retrieve the object before it can become an issue."

"Understood. What if Bee has charmed the final hiding place to be only accessible by Emerald?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "We have ways around it, and I doubt he would do that. Bee would have a contingency plan in case Emerald failed."

Obsidian nodded. Of course he would. "The muggleborn?"

"In France. Fully recovered. Of course we both know who was to blame for her injuries."

"Firecracker." Obsidian spoke, and silence was his answer. "What an appropriate code name."

"Firecracker approached her after her 'friends' had rebuffed her attempts at correcting them. He was the reason she never made it to the Great Hall to apologize for being short with her roommates."

Obsidian raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

The man nodded. "You will be briefed once the object has been secured and returned to the rightful owner. Maintain the current channels, and once everything has been finished you will receive final orders."

Obsidian nodded. "Do you have reason to believe that I will need to be more directly involved after this?"

The man shrugged. "Star Shine says that the water is murky, which is a good sign and a bad sign all in one. We should be fine. In fact, we might be finished with Grim pretty soon."

Obsidian nodded. He did not know who Grim was, but knew that the man had been dead useful in carrying information that he himself could not deliver.

"Star Shine did speak of a dark object and a cup. Both will come into the school sometime in the next two or three years. One will be permitted in, the other welcomed with open arms. You must retrieve the object, and prevent Emerald from using the cup."

"Cup? Any specific cup?"

"Star Shine said the image was vague, but that it's arrival will be marked with great ceremony. You will know it when you see it, and Bee will try and use it to isolate Emerald from his peers, not directly but somehow the Cup will separate Emerald and that the Cup is the last major focal point for the original damage. Star Shine says that aside from what we have already corrected for the Cup remains the last item tying the vision to the current mortal plane."

Obsidian nodded. "Is that why you are releasing Grim? He can better protect Emerald with his memories restored than as one of your operatives?"

"Yes, but he will help you prevent the dark object from entering the school, and from causing damage if it does. The object is dark, horrifically so, but causes no damage where it is. It is only if it is used as a key…"

Obsidian connected the dots. "The dark object is tied to the school in some way. Away from the school all is well, but within the school chaos."

The man replied "Exactly. You have ways at your disposal to discover if a student has possession of the dark object. I will give you more information after the current objective is met."

Obsidian spoke. "Of course."

"I will take my leave. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." The man exited, leaving out whatever secret entrance he had come in, and Severus Snape sighed, needing a drink more than ever to deal with the stack of incompetence that contained the first year essays on uncommon Potions uses for the five most common cooking spices.

* * *

Winter merged into early spring, and Harry found that his dad's notes helped him out in class, and now he was almost the top ranked in Transfiguration as well. He still managed his friendly competition with Draco over top marks in Potions, even though both of them were on the advanced syllabus. It was one particular lunch period, a few weeks before the Vernal Equinox and Dora walked up to him and presented Harry with what was by now a very familiar looking note.

"Here you go Harry." Nymphadora handed him the cream parchment envelope with swoopy handwriting.

Harry looked up at his long lost cousin. Today her hair was dark blue with gold and silver streaks, pulled back in a French braid. Her eyes were dark blue as well. "Interesting look, Dora." Harry smiled.

"I'm leaving Hogwarts soon. Gotta make a good lasting impression." Dora smiled.

Harry nodded. "I see. Talk to you later, then."

"Yup." The girl walked back to her position at the head of the table with the other Prefects and began to eat her lunch.

Harry waited until classes were over to answer this latest summons from the Headmaster. On advice from Tristan he did not accept any food or drink, claiming that he did not want to 'spoil' his dinner, and waited for the Headmaster to continue his interrogation of Harry.

"So, Harry, have you thought any more about what I've told you about the Philosopher's Stone?"

Harry shook his head. "No Sir. I've been quite busy with my studies. I am rather interested in History outside of the Goblin Wars, so I try to study that outside of class as much as I can, and I'm trying to be on the advanced Charms syllabus next year so that takes up most of my time, as well as keeping up with my work on the advanced Potions syllabus. I'm not quite good enough to be on the advanced Transfiguration syllabus, but I still want a solid O out of the class."

Dumbledore nodded. Harry was a true Ravenclaw. He could be spotted in study groups with his housemates and with older students. It did bother the headmaster that Harry counted Nott as one of his closest friends, but at least the boy was not friends with Draco Malfoy as well.

"Ah. Very good Harry. What interests you about History so much?"

"I learned from my tutor before coming to Hogwarts that knowing History was the best way to learn about yourself. We studied both muggle and wizard history, and where they intersect." Harry left off the part that his tutor had given him two journals written by Death Eaters to study as a part of his Modern History curriculum.

Dumbledore smiled. "That's nice. Does it not concern you that the Stone could be used by Voldemort's followers to resurrect him?"

Harry sighed mentally. It was the same question every time. "No Sir. The Philosopher's Stone was only created once, and it is well guarded. I am only a first year, Sir. What could I do to stop Death Eaters if they really wanted the Stone? I'm not even anywhere near the Stone. I couldn't' stop them if I tried."

Dumbledore's smile faltered a little, a fact that Harry did not miss. "Ah. But what if they came after you, thinking you are protecting the Stone?"

"Why would they think that, Sir? And besides, I am at Hogwarts. Aside from the troll incident this is the safest place, and there are plenty of older students around constantly to protect me, not counting the teachers and staff members."

Harry may have been young, but he was not naïve. The headmaster was trying to bait him into thinking that he was the only person who could protect the Stone from a group of people who were either in Azkaban or were otherwise inactive due to the constant threat of Azkaban if they revealed their affiliation. He himself knew several former Death Eaters, and none of them were whispering about the mysterious location of the Stone.

"What if I told you that the Stone is here at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore hated to tip his hand, but the boy was way too reliant on other people to be of any use to him. Being raised by competent guardians had instilled in Harry a faith in adults that did not suit Dumbledore's needs. He relied on others to make wise choices regarding his safety, and not even allowing a troll to rampage around Hogwarts and nearly fatally injure another student had shaken that faith.

Harry, for his part shrugged. "Well, if that is indeed the case, I can only guess it's on the third floor corridor you have made out of bounds. I believe you indicated something about 'dying a painful death'. I rather think that would keep most people away, Sir."

Dumbledore was at a loss. Harry was completely uninterested in the safety of the Stone, or even trying to find it. Maybe it was time for Plan B.

"How very prudent of you, Harry."

Harry was tired of this game. Every week it was the same questions, the same attempts at drawing Harry's interest into a matter that was best left to fully trained wizards. "May I be excused? It is a school night and I have research for Astronomy to do before class tomorrow night."

"Yes, Harry. Take care."

Harry got up and left. He did have work to do on his Astronomy essay, but he also needed to finish his assignment for the Rites lesson before that. They were studying the Wizengamot and had an essay due on the ten ways a wizard could legally claim a seat, as well as the ten ways a wizard could lose his seat. They would also be discussing the role of the Minister of Magic and how it had evolved since being enacted in 1710. He walked back to his common room, lost in those thoughts, and almost missed colliding into the first year who was rapidly walking in his direction.

"Oi! Watch it Potter!" The redhead shouted.

Harry looked and saw Ronald Weasley. While not exactly his mortal enemy, he had little use for the boy, especially since he constantly belittled Longbottom despite Neville having a higher status in society than he did. Harry looked at Weasley with a critical eye, noting the too short robes and battered satchel he kept his books in. Feeling suddenly antagonistic to the boy he spoke.

"Really, Weasley? I am in my proper corridor heading to my dorm. If I am not mistaken, you are on the opposite side of the castle from the Gryffindor tower. You have no right being here."

Ron narrowed his eyes. "Don't think I'm not on to you, Potter. Just because you're in Ravenclaw doesn't change the fact that you're being raised by Death Eaters."

Harry desperately fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Really? Explain how, with my Aunt and Uncle raised and going to school in America during the time in question makes them Death Eaters?"

Ron sputtered. "They're Dark! The whole family is Dark! Slytherins the lot of them!"

Again Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, because all Slytherins are Death Eaters. Have you noticed that I am NOT a Slytherin? Or did your poor upbringing mean that you don't notice that there are FOUR houses at Hogwarts?"

Ron turned red and pulled out his wand. Harry spied the movement and dodged the hex that followed. Harry sent a powerful tickling jinx towards Ron and quickly left while the boy was fighting to recover.

As Harry slid into an unused classroom that was actually used by other Ravenclaws to study in when the library was full, he found himself reconsidering whether or not Ron Weasley could remain in that category of students he paid no attention to unless he was trying to sabotage a potion. Ten minutes later he was still undecided, but felt it was at least safe to leave the classroom and continue his journey to his common room. There was still an hour until dinner, and he wanted to switch his books out for his study session later that evening.

It would not be until much later when he would remember that Ron Weasley was headed for the third floor corridor that was banned by the Headmaster.

* * *

"The Gryffindorks are up to something." Blaise sat behind Harry at lunch a few days later, as was their custom. It was the best way they could think of to sit with each other at lunch to talk without causing problems.

Harry shrugged. "They're always up to something. Haven't you noticed the point totals?"

Blaise waived an impatient hand. Slytherin and Ravenclaw were just about even in points, and it would come down to the final Quiddich match of the season, like always. "No, pay attention to Weasel. He's got something up his sleeve."

Harry frowned. "A rat. We've all seen the vile thing. Since when did you start calling Weasley Weasel?"

Blaise shrugged. "Too much time around Draco."

Harry laughed. "That can't be good for your health."

"I heard that Potter!" Draco frowned from across the Slytherin table.

Harry chuckled and turned his attention back to Blaise. "You are imagining things. Don't pay attention to Weasley. If he's planning something let him do it. What's the worst he can do?"

"He could prank us. His brothers are notorious for pranking people." Blaise opined.

"Let him. I'll just let Mira and Titania loose on him." Harry laughed. The twin girls gave twin winks in his direction and Harry suddenly felt sorry for the fool who would dare cross the Lestrange twins.

"But…" Blaise began…

"Don't worry about it. If he tries anything Professor Snape will be more than willing to dock points and give him detention scrubbing cauldrons until his grandchildren are Hogwarts graduates.

The group laughed and continued talking about the upcoming spring schedule. Only Blaise noticed how the youngest male Weasley continued to stare at Harry while shoveling food in his mouth, but he didn't want to seem paranoid, besides the threat of Snape was scarier than all three Lestranges and Flint combined. Blaise knew that for a fact. Pansy was still recovering from the hex she had received for insulting Titania's father.

* * *

Short chapter, I know, but this was a natural stopping point. The next chapter will take us to the end of term, length be darned. We will hear from Grim again, find out what Dumbledore has planned (He's not manipulative, but he has his motives and they might not be the best), and find out what Ron's role is in all of this.

Enjoy, and please review!


	12. Closing Gaps

based on material written by J.K. Rowling. Only my characters are my own, others are property of J.K. Rowling and just being borrowed for my procrastination and your enjoyment.

* * *

The large black dog crept quietly down the deserted hallway, expertly avoiding the stray beams of moonlight that entered through the windows. Even though the hallway was empty and quiet, one never knew when a stray child or staff person would stumble across and interrupt his mission. It was some early hour of the morning, after the last runners had gone to bed, but before the early risers would be about, and Grim had a job to do.

Grim easily crossed the simple wards of the 'forbidden' corridor on the third floor without disturbing them. Obsidian had given perfect instructions about what to expect: a series of traps laid out by various staff members. The first would be Hagrid's, but after that Obsidian could give no hints except his own was a Potions puzzle. He reached the door, where more simple wards lay and he slipped past those without disturbing them. They were obviously keyed to specific people, and his presence was not expected, even though he was using special equipment designed for crossing wards undetected. He turned back into his human self and bypassed the Cerberus with an Everplay Harp. Designed for children, it played a simple lullaby for three hours without having to be reset. Within a minute the three-headed dog was asleep.

Next Grim entered the trap door, and fell into the Devil's Snare that lay underneath. He burned it up with a quick flick of the wrist and dropped the Poison Oak seeds he had with him. They were engineered to be extra potent and grow within a few hours. The area would be unpassable by mid-morning, and because the vines didn't move, no wizard trying to 'sneak' in would think that the inoffensive and soft leaves posed a threat. Most dangerous magical plants moved angrily when disturbed, and plants that did not move were not dangerous to touch for any wizard competent in healing spells. Grim only hoped that the would-be thief was not an Herbology expert, but even in that event once the thief knew it was Poison Oak it would likely be too late.

Moving into the next room, he simply summoned the proper key and moved forward. He added an anti-summon spell to all the keys, added teeth to the keys as a defense mechanism and took the broom with him, shrinking it down to his pocket. The next room was a giant chess set. He simply transfigured the pieces into logs and crossed to the other side. He then transfigured the chessboard into a swimming pool filled with water. His expert Transfiguration skills came in handy once more as he transformed the former chess pieces into small biting fish and jellyfish.

The next room contained a sleeping troll who remained asleep thanks to Obsidian working earlier in the day to slip the troll a powerful sleeping potion. Grim moved into the next room and quickly summoned the potion to get past the flames. He then vanished the clue, took out the flames and pulled out the multiple vials of 'mystery potion' Obsidian had brewed for this particular purpose. He did not want to know what the mysterious potions master had brewed that was 'worse than poison'.

Finally the last door opened, and there sat the stone on a pedestal, looking very much like a prize at the end of a contest. The room felt unfinished somehow, and Grim thanked his luck that whatever the Headmaster had planned for this challenge went unfinished. True to form, there was an alternative exit, which Grim planned on using to full advantage. He planted the fake stone after taking the real one, and exited the passageway.

Doubling back, he planted several new wards and a double powered age line, with an alarm tied to his hideout on the grounds, as well as several other key places where if an unsuspecting child were to try and enter the corridor and the rooms enough trustworthy people would be alerted in order to preserve that child's life. His work finished he slipped out of the castle the same way he had come into it, and went to bed for a well deserved lie in.

Grim smiled in spite of himself. The Stone was safe!

* * *

March 15

The Spring Equinox was mere days away, and everybody was in high spirits. All of Harry's 'extra' classes had been canceled for the week, since the latest round of 15 year olds had to be trained for their new duties regarding the Equinox rites. Ever the Ravenclaw, Harry spent this extra time in the library, reading History books and taking meticulous notes. He knew that his family library had many more books on Wizard History, since the library at Hogwarts hadn't been updated on the subject since Binns became a ghost. However, there were still some rare and unique items at Hogwarts.

Harry had been so engrossed in his studies that he was shocked when the warning bell sounded for early curfew, which was specific to First and Second years. Thankfully this bell gave him 45 minutes with which to scurry off to his dorm in time for First and Second year curfew. He gathered his belongings and noted, that except for a few OWL and NEWT level Claws he was pretty much alone in the library. The thought barely processed as he walked out of the library and toward his dorm.

Harry had made it halfway when he noticed strange sounds in the hallway with him. Since the hall was pretty much deserted hearing the strange sounds kind of freaked him out. He would walk, and it sounded like somebody was walking with him, but when he turned around there was naught a person to see, and the walking stopped. He proceeded like this for a few minutes, and finally stopped quickly and turned around, catching a flash of red that ducked into shadow.

"Hey Gryffindor! Why are you following me?" Harry surmised that the flash of red was from a Gryffindor uniform.

"You're up to something!" Ron Weasley removed himself from the shadows and walked towards Harry.

"OF COURSE I'm up to something! It's called going to my dorm in time for curfew." Harry sighed. "Why do you keep following me?"

"Because you're sneaking around and always in the library! It ain't natural!"

Harry rolled his eyes and turned back around to continue his walk. "Fine, follow me then, just don't go complaining to folks when you're late and lose points because you were clear across the castle following a Ravenclaw to their dorm. They might question your sanity."

Harry heard a rustle behind him, and instantly shifted leftward as an odd colored spell shot past him. He turned around and got his wand ready, with just the tip poking out of his robe sleeve.

"What are you ON?" Harry looked at the red-haired boy, who was turning red.

"You won't even LISTEN to me! I've embarrassed myself this whole year boasting about how we were best friends and you won't even pay me the time of DAY! Instead you hang out with that squib Neville and all your Death Eater friends!"

Harry fought hard to control his temper. It flared up every now and again, and here was this red-haired menace, impeding his progress towards bed and sanity, where nothing would bother him until DADA in the afternoon. "Neville Longbottom is worth 10,000 of you. He doesn't go about attempting to hex random blokes in the hallways half an hour till curfew, and he's a good friend to boot. Something you would know if you bothered to speak to the boy rather than teasing him because he's not like you." This time Harry saw Weasley preparing the spell and dodged what he knew was a mispronounced and miscast bat bogey hex.

"I'm far more important than Longbottom! Just you see!" Ron shouted and then prepared to shoot off another spell. Harry dodged this one too, a sickly green colored spell with an incantation that sounded off to Harry.

"Why do you keep shooting spells at me?" Harry queried, as Ron glared at him for not falling victim to his latest attempt at spell casting.

"We're gonna duel! We're gonna duel and I'm gonna win and then you'll apologize for pissing me off and we'll be best blokes!" Ron shot off another spell, and this one Harry ducked.

Harry, knowing that this was possibly the worst thing ever, a pissed off boy with a wand he couldn't seem to use properly. So he did the best thing he could think of. He ran. He tore down the hallway to the sound of Weasley's pursuit, and used his speed advantage to quickly dive down a corridor and into an empty classroom. Ron had been right behind him, but a quick locking charm on the door kept him out. Harry figured he could wait ten minutes and be back to his dorm, or at least in the corridor where his dorm entrance was, and not get into too much trouble. He turned around, prepared to wait the Gryffindor out and saw it. It was a strange mirror sitting in one corner of the overly dusty classroom. He had seen it before, in one of the books he had been reading.

"Mirror of Erised." Harry recalled. He walked over to it and his breath caught in his throat.

He was standing, fully-grown and without glasses, in proper Wizengamot robes with Blaise and Theo, smiling and laughing. He was holding a piece of parchment, but could not figure out what it was. It almost looked like the three of them had completed their Mastery, from the way they kept holding up the rolls and cheering. His Aunt Cassi and Uncle Orion were there, as well as Dru and the twins and Ori Jr. But there was also a red haired woman and a guy who looked like him, although they looked older. He recognized them as his parents, and they were smiling out of the mirror at him. The scene shifted slightly and he was still standing there, but he was holding a blonde haired baby and smiling down at it. His robes looked very refined, and had symbols on them he barely remembered from Civics class. They looked like high government robes, in any case.

The bell sounded, and it tore Harry from his reflection. He realized with a panic that he had missed curfew, and could only hope to make it back without being caught by Prefect patrols as he tried to make it back in time. With a fleeting glance to his reflection, he left his family behind.

Fifteen minutes and a few close calls later, Harry made it back to his dorm and up to bed. He drifted off to sleep wondering what that parchment said, and who's little blonde baby he had been holding.

* * *

Springtime came to Hogwarts, and the last big event before finals was the Slytherin-Ravenclaw Quiddich match. It was the match of the season, literally. The winner of this match would likely win the House Cup. The points between Ravenclaw and Slytherin were very close, and the bonus that winning the Quiddich Cup brought would be the difference.

The match was mid April, which was delightfully warm and breezy. The entire week had been perfect for being outside, and spring fever had settled in. The stands were packed with students, even the most bookish Ravenclaw and disinterested Hufflepuff came out just to enjoy being in the stands. Harry happily seated himself near Theo, with Daphne in between and Christophe on other side as the two teams made their way onto the pitch.

Meanwhile, one person was absent from the final game, begging off with a headache, and after begrudgingly accepting a potion from Professor Snape told his colleagues he would go 'sleep it off.' He instead headed towards the third floor corridor.

Professor Quirrell was not the most competent professor at Hogwarts. At one time he had been a great man, the perfect instructor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. He had graduated from Hogwarts, Ravenclaw Class of '70, a prefect and apprentice to Casper Alio, the last man to teach at Hogwarts with an actual mastery in the Defensive Arts. Alio and Quirrell had been among the earliest to flee during the rise of Lord Voldemort. When Alio died before Quirrell could earn his Mastery from him, Quirrell hired himself out as a tutor. He spent many years teaching both English and French children until an opportunity to teach for a very rich family in Russia. Most of his other pupils had aged out, and the others he could floo to visit.

Teaching in Russia brought it's own challenges, but he also got to do a lot of research. It was amazing how much information he learned just by being in a different area of the world. By 1987 all of his charges had grown up, but he had made enough money to research to his heart's content. However, it was in Albania that he found what would have been his life's work.

Strange happenings had plagued a rural part of Albania for years, not like there was a particularly busy part of Albania, but the rate of magical creatures that had vanished. There were also 'dark happenings' that drew him to the area. He was hoping to discover a new creature that fed on the other creatures, but in particular light creatures like the Albanian Unicorn. Unlike its English counterpart, they came in shades of blue and purple. Once a flourishing population, they had been hunted to near extinction, even within the heavily warded preserves designed to protect them for 'humane harvesting' of hair and replaceable body parts.

When he was attacked he didn't even realize it for a few weeks. That first few months was hard on him, but he managed. Then he was contacted through an old acquaintance about the perpetual need of a DA teacher at Hogwarts, his old Alma Mater. Apparently the willingness of competent teachers to fill the post was dwindling, and only the insane, desperate or incompetent were filling the spots. His friend thought he would be perfect, since he was actually qualified. Of course the added rumor that he would be the first teacher to officially teach Harry Potter DADA sweetened the pot. His master agreed.

He had been fighting hard to stay alive, since they had moved the remaining 300 or so Albanian unicorns to another preserve, down from a herd of more than 4,000. He had managed, but with the promise of a fresh crop of unicorns to hunt, and the rumors that Albus Dumbledore had been entrusted to protect a 'rare artifact' he packed his bags and left for Hogwarts.

At orientation he found out that the school was protecting the Philosopher's Stone, in order to preserve the lives, ironically enough, of the Flamels. They had enough tonic to last the year, according to Dumbledore. His master laughed in his head, and the plot to take the stone and use it to separate his master from himself was hatched. The troll was to be a distraction, but the night had been an epic disaster. Now, with Dumbledore out of the castle on ICW business and the rest of the school at the Quiddich Cup, the castle would be empty of interlopers.

Quirrell made his way down to the third floor corridor after ditching the headache potion behind a statue. He unshrunk a harp and let the cerebus fall asleep. He didn't know what the other protections were, or what order they were in, so he descended into the trap door with caution.

The plant he found was thick, but soft and only mildly irritating. Figuring it was choke weed he let himself slide through and to the next room, only feeling mildly aggravated from the leaves he had just passed through.

The second room was full of floating keys, which swarmed and attacked him as soon as he entered. Figuring out quickly that these were keys to the next door he attempted to summon the key and failed. The charmed keys continued to swarm and bite at him, as the irritation on his exposed skin continued to grow. Finally the combined irritation of biting keys and itchy skin got to him and he blasted his way to the next room to find a pool of water and a school of what looked like baby sharks. An invisible force pushed him into the water and that was when he realized that the floating clouds were highly poisonous jellyfish, which swarmed him because of the little bites and the little bit of bleeding he had begun to feel from the keys.

He swam across as fast as he could, even though he could already feel the poison working through his veins. In the next room he found his troll, which he battled, pushing the poison through his system faster. The next room contained vials, which he tested by smelling and tasting. He found one that seemed to work, but by now his mind was very foggy and his brain was full of cement. It turned out that this vial only made the flames hotter. The potion also made him very thirsty, and ignoring the protests of his master he drank every potion in sight trying to quench his thirst. His skin was on fire from a rapidly spreading rash, and his blood boiled from the combination of jellyfish poison and the ill effects of the potions he had drank.

Unable to rid the room of flames, and unable to go back Quirrell was running out of ideas. The flames were magical and could not hurt him, so he thought. It was more his body's unconscious response against being burned than anything.

At this point Quirrell's blood felt like it was on fire and freezing at the same time. His head swam, his vision was blurred and his skin felt like it was roasting. He was also certain that quite a number of things he was seeing were not actually present, but his brain could not figure out which was which. He heard multiple voices in his head, all telling him to do different things involving the blue fire that may or may not have been in front of him. He couldn't tell from heat, as his own body was giving off it's own heat. His eyes were blurry, and he was at least partially certain that fish did not swim in flames, so maybe it was a fish tank he was looking at?

Suddenly, blinding hot searing pain flashed through his brain, muting for a moment all the other pain his body was feeling, and then he felt his body slip blissfully into the cooling effects of unconsciousness, where the pain and confusion could not reach.

That was where he was found an hour later, mid Quiddich match, by Croaker and an assistant who had been summoned by Grim when the alarms first began to ring. The shade, his "master', was long gone, but it was obvious during the subsequent examination that Quirrell had been possessed by a malevolent entity. The trio stood over the still unconscious body and discussed fate.

"You have done good work, Grim." Croaker looked at the shaking, mangled body of Quirrell, and the Stone which sat on a nearby pillow.

Grim simply shrugged. "Your orders were that Emerald nor the other should be put in danger by the Stone. I saw to it that only the target ever got a chance to do so. Nick and Penny?"

"On their way to retrieve the Stone. After this incident they feel that keeping the stone is worth it, at least for a little while longer. They say that they have much knowledge that should be shared, but that the 'timing' has never been right."

Grim looked oddly at Croaker. "Trade secets?"

Croaker shook his head. "Not really, but information the likes of which would keep our department busy for years decoding, not to mention how they have had centuries to research whatever topic they so choose. And they operate outside of the Ministry. They probably have enough books full of information the Ministry would like hidden to fill ten libraries the size of Hogwarts."

Grim's eyes widened. "Is that another reason they were a target?"

Croaker looked down at Quirrell and cast a spell at the man. He then moved away to a corner of the room and bid Grim to follow.

A second and third privacy spell later and Croaker spoke. "Bee had the power to protect the stone and Nick and Penny without taking it from their custody. They have the rare distinction of being older than him. Not a lot of British wizards can say that. Even if they collected five books a year that have subsequently been banned, or the magic within them banned, since they married and began working on the Philosopher's Stone… they've been alive for around four hundred years. And I happen to know that Penny is an avid collector of books and rarities."

Grim actually felt the ground drop from beneath his feet. The person who was placed in charge of an estate that large could literally control history and the future. Especially if the Flamels had any information on magic that had been since banned by the ministry like Necromancy and Blood Runes. There were people in a position of power had killed off no telling how many other branches of magic.

"You have done good work. We can protect Nick and Penny now, and keep them safe until they can once again share their knowledge with others. Go home, we will keep you posted on your next assignment. For this we might even consider keeping you on after your term of repayment is completed.

Grim nodded, and left by Floo to his temporary home, while Shining Star entered from another room.

"This is better than we can have imagined. The mists still shroud the future, but the next couple of years have become unveiled. Grim is not out of danger, and Templeton must be captured before we can release Grim."

Croaker nodded, and then cracked a rare smile. "Yes, this much we know. The Bee is still very active and will try to make our work difficult. The Stone is safe, and the rightful owners will be returning for it shortly. It is good that the original course of events have changed. Much of the chaos of the original timeline was caused by the Stone falling into the wrong hands."

Star Shine smiled. "We will be successful. We have recruited well, even if it was by pure chance."

Croaker agreed. "Yes. What shall we do about Quirrell?"

Star Shine shrugged. "We have the means to use Polyjuice until the end of the term, and then we can leave peacefully. Everybody knows the position is cursed. It is excepted."

Croaker nodded. "Yes. You can do that. It will give you a chance to read Emerald more closely, it might help clear the mists to pose as one of his professors for even these last two months. You have the materials?"

Star Shine smiled. "I am prepared."

* * *

The Slytherins were unbearable those last two months, given that they won the Quiddich Cup for an 8th straight year. The Ravenclaw Seeker, a second year girl named Cho was in danger of losing her position, and this fact was well known among the other Ravenclaws.

"You should try out next year, Harry." Theo poked at his lamb stew and looked at the raven haired boy across the table from him.

Harry shrugged. "I might. It all depends."

Daphne shook her head. "You saw the same game I did. I might not be as obsessed with the sport as the rest of you lot but we had that game in the bag if not for Chang."

"That doesn't mean that I'll get a spot on the team."

"That's a load of bollocks. I've seen you fly Harry. You'll fly circles around the competition." Theo supplied.

Harry simply shrugged again and continued to work on his own stew. "I guess. I just feel like right now I need to work on my Practicals. If I score high enough in Transfiguration I will be added to the advanced syllabus for the upcoming term."

"I'm more concerned about my abyssimal performance in Potions. I might not even get an O this term!" Daphne sighed. "It's so horrible! I can't imagine getting a lower score than Parkinson!"

"She's good?" Theo looked confused.

"She's got Draco tutoring her, and he's good, and not just because his godfather is the professor." Daphne supplied.

Harry smiled. "Well then I'll just have to tutor you. I pulled Neville Longbottom up to an EE in Potions. Getting you to maintain an O will be a breeze in comparison."

Daphne sighed. "Well I would hope so. Longbottom is a decent enough bloke, but he's a bundle of nerves."

Harry scowled. "Well part of it isn't his fault. His housemates are louses. They tease him so horribly that it's no wonder he can't concentrate on the information that's in his brain. It's a wonder anybody in Gryffindor gets decent marks."

The group scowled towards the Gryffindor table, where the subject of their conversation was stuffing his face with every edible item within reach.

"Parvati says it's an absolute horror. All her roommates ever do is gossip and even if she wanted to study she also wants to keep good relations with them, lest she end up in the same position as Neville. " Padma supplied. "She'll be in tutoring all summer just to catch herself back up!"

Harry nodded thoughtfully. He would be in classes this summer too, but more towards things he was not learning at Hogwarts. He knew that he would spend two days a week at Malfoy Manor studying account management with Draco. Being the heir of such impressive holdings meant that he had to know how to manage them properly. He was not looking forward to spending an entire summer taking classes with just Draco, but the boy was his cousin, and his equal socially. Some things could not be avoided.

He would also be learning other subjects, as well as taking the Durmstang Summer Curriculum, a tradition among Black family members. It would make him a more well-rounded wizard. That he did look forward to, as he was taking the classes alone. The term was ending rather nicely. Even DADA had improved, as the professor seemed to finally have lost his stutter and didn't reek of garlic as badly. oHis headaches during the class, while infrequent even when they did occur, were non-existent now. Maybe he would try out for Quiddich.

* * *

Dumbledore sighed as he sat watching the end of term feast. He could glare with the best of them when he wanted to, but he was more disappointed than anything. Not once, not even once, did Harry even raise an eyebrow at the bait he threw out. There the boy sat now, amongst his friends in Ravenclaw, but the fact that he also conversed with the Slytherins who sat directly behind him was not lost on him. Not a care in the world except for the upcoming summer hoidays. No cautions glances towards his direction, cautious and hopeful that the Headmaster would rescue him from his horrid relatives.

Instead, Harry looked excited about the prospect of going home, where he had his own suite and private tutors for the entire summer. He didn't look concerned that the fate of the Wizarding World was on his shoulders. Dumbledore was unsure how to instill in Harry the need to take matters into his own hands. Harry seemed unconcerned with anybody other than his closest friends. Even when directly confronted, as Dumbledore had urged young Ron Weasley to do, the boy did not rise to the bait. He was strongly protective of Neville Longbottom, which could prove handy. The risk of angering Augusta Longbottom and the other surviving Longbottom clan was very high should a hair on Neville head be injured in one of his 'schemes' as the unsympathetic called them, but sometimes measures must be taken. Dumbledore put it out of his mind that the whole reason Tom Riddle had turned out the way he had was because Dumbledore figured that leaving him at the orphanage would temper his anti-Muggle sentiments rather than turn them into a full blown fanaticism.

Dumbledore also ignored the fact that many people had tried to adopt young Mr. Riddle, individuals and families whose other children spoke about how talented Mr. Riddle had been and how disturbing his 'home' life was, but Dumbledore had blocked the efforts through his ties at the Ministry. Never once did it occur to Dumbledore that forcing Harry to remain living with the Dursleys might have eventually produced the same effects.

No, all Dumbledore could do was shake his head at how Harry failed to go on any type of 'adventure' this year, and more importantly, failed to recover the Stone for him. Quirrell seemed better, but Dumbledore knew it was not the original Quirrell. Some outside force had intervened, and if Harry was to become the person Dumbledore needed him to be in order to fix his fifty-year-old mistake, that outside force had to be stopped before the new term began.

Harry laughed, and Dumbledore felt that not even lemon sherbert drops or even that Muggle candy Mars Bars could make him feel better about the boy's blissful happiness.

* * *

Term is over! Upcoming: Summer Lessons and probably the start of Year 2. Thanks for my reviewers/readers! Sorry this took so long but school has kicked up full swing. Some of you had questions that rather than answer them in a review, prompt me to add details to my story. Enjoy!


	13. Summer Chain

A/N. Thank you all who continue to read/review my story! It means quite a lot to me. This chapter is here, and the next one has already begun. Again, I am not J.K., nor am I a billionare, thus unless I've created a character myself, I do not own them and I am simply borrowing them as an excuse to procrastinate in class and impart my vision upon them. Please continue to read, enjoy, and call me out when things don't make sense. The action will pick up (don't worry about that!) as I already see the vision of the end of the 2nd year.

Enjoy!

* * *

The beginning of the summer was blissful in its simplicity. The lack of things to constantly do was a welcome respite for Harry, as was the guarantee that the most annoying person he would see all summer would be Draco. Sure there was preparation for his next birthday, as well as the Summer Solstice, but for the most part all Harry had to do was relax and enjoy life.

There was no denying that this would all change once his summer lessons started back up again, but those were only twice a week, and he would have his entire weekends to himself if he so chose.

Currently Harry was engaged in a very Muggle looking activity, except for the glass that floated beside him in the middle of the air. He was lounging in a very comfortable body of water, with a glass of freshly made lemonade floating beside him. It had already been two glorious weeks in the south of France. There was a small wizarding town on an island which was so isolated and exclusive it did not have a name. You either had property there or were invited by a person who had property there. The Black family owned two houses, and Harry's holdings included a villa in the mountains of the medium sized muggle-proof island. Other prominent families from magical families worldwide had houses and land dotted about the island, and as children got older they spent more time mingling with the other families. There were three shops, only a few restaurants, but a healthy social scene for the older children and adults. Harry knew his entire family was somewhere on the island: he had seen the twins and Ori bouncing around down by the beach, Dru was likely at the spa with the girls she had recently met from Beauxbatons. Tristian he had not seen since the boat arrived, but he did not doubt that the boy was hidden away somewhere practicing curses or reading rare books. Titania and Miranda, the two girls his own age, were also in the lake with him, relaxed and soaking in the glorious sun of southern France.

Later this week Theo, Blaise and Tracey would be arriving, and then Daphne and her little sister, Astoria would come. He was sure that some of Dru's friends from Hogwarts were soon to arrive, and some of the families he did not know as well would be along. His cousin Dora was off with her friends from Hogwarts on a post graduation romp in the States. This would be the first summer in a couple of years that the family would spend the entire summer in France, but very few families of his status stayed in England for the summer. Every family he knew, his included, spent at least a few weeks each summer abroad, and avoided Diagon Alley like the plague. Shopping for Hogwarts supplies, with the exception of books, was done abroad by wizards with means, if only because shops in other countries were a lot more exclusive than most of those in Diagon Alley.

Harry sighed and let his mind melt into that perfect zone of relaxation. For the most part this is where he would spend his summer. They had already deployed a house elf to dust and clean the Potter villa, which would be kept up until he could use it. He would pop away twice a week to Malfoy Manor for his lessons, as the tutor was not deemed worthy to be on the island. It did detract from the purposeful relaxation portion of being on the island. The tutor did not mind, because it meant he could work for several families without adding the expense of getting to the Continent to his deductions.

"Hey Potter!" A voice rang out across the small lake Harry was floating in.

Harry popped one eye open and tried to find the source of the sound. He sat up and saw Draco standing on the shore. He paddled over, hoping Draco had a good reason for disturbing his lovely float in the lake.

"What?" Harry stepped out of the small raft he had been floating in and walked up to Draco.

"Found some other people who brought their brooms, and thought we might have a pickup game."

Harry perked up at this. "Oh really? Enough for two teams?"

Draco shook his head. "If I get you, Dru and the twins to play, we will still be short one per side, but we can each go down a chaser and be good to go."

Harry nodded. "Sounds fair. How are we dividing up?" Harry exited the lake with a hop onto the soft sand, the glass of lemonade still following.

Draco smiled as the two walked up the hill to the house Harry was staying in for the summer. "The twins will play Chaser, Tristan will be a Beater, Dru will be keeper, and you and I will draw straws for the other beater and seeker."

Harry scowled. "You know I'm better at Seeker than you… if I got my choice I'd be a chaser if I can't be Seeker."

Draco rolled his eyes. "No way. The twins are just passable as Chasers. They'd never make a good Beater."

Harry stopped. "You want to win don't ya?"

Draco looked at his cousin and seemed to think about it. "Fine. You're Seeker. You do know I hate you, right?"

Harry smirked. "Yeah, but that's because you're a ponce."

Draco wrinkled his nose. "That doesn't even work!"

Harry laughed and ran the rest of the way up the hill, with Draco close behind.

* * *

June faded into July and the various lessons Harry was taking kept him just busy enough to enjoy his down time. Theo and Blaise were staying with him on the isle, so the Quiddich pick-up games increased exponentially. Titania turned out to be quite the valuable Quiddich player, so she replaced Dru as Keeper. The kids they were playing against, a group of friends who were from Drumstang. Draco and Tristan were desperate to get information about the school and their classes from them, but they were all mum. Two of them were Rosiers, and their seeker was a petite ice blonde girl who was loads of fun to hang out with in general, Katarina Dolchov. She was Harry's age, while the Rosiers were older. They got along pretty well in general, but the healthy Quiddich rivalry kept them from being too closely involved.

Harry bemoaned the fact that he was spending another gorgeous day in Malfoy Manor back in England, studying finance with only Draco and an ancient wizard as company. Harry was also taking a couple of other classes with Draco, on Orion's insistence. The classes had been intense so far, all about calculating investments and determining conditions in real estate. By the end of the summer they would each be expected to select two hundred galleons and invest them in no fewer than three companies. Harry already had his eye on one company: OmniCast Publishing, which was inching it's way into the student spell book world, but also prided itself on finding new writing talent for teen novels. They already had a decent following, but only recently had they gone public in trading. Because it was a niche audience where publishers rose and fell with the tide, not a lot of investors were jumping at the chance, but there was a rumor that OmniCast had a new project they were protecting, the 'next big thing' they were calling it.

Harry knew that they were supposed to be working on important calculations, but he could not bring himself to pay too close attention to it all. His birthday was coming up rather quickly, and while that alone was good enough reason to be in a good mood, somehow Augusta Longbottom, Neville's grandmother, had given the two of them permission to have a joint garden party back on the island. Everybody who was even decently important in Britain would be there, but it would still be a private affair. There would be Quiddich, and punch, maybe even butterbeer, and lots of delicious food. Harry was particularly looking forward to the seafood spread, as seafood was not served at Hogwarts.

"Mr. Potter!"

Harry looked up at the ancient accountant, startled out of his daydream. "Yes Sir?"

"I see that you have finished your assignment for the day. Your assignment for the next class is to review your duties as a shareholder and be prepared for a simulation next class. You are dismissed."

"Thank you Sir." Harry gathered his belongings, and spared a look at Draco, who was still writing out calculations. After spending so many lessons with just Draco he could tell by the way he carried his shoulders that he was frustrated, but would not stoop so low as to display that frustration in any tangible way. Draco was smart, and from what Harry could tell actually worked at earning his grades, rather than like some of his housemates who got others to do the work for him. For all of that intelligence, the boy was pants at arithmetic. Harry too would have struggled had it not been for the hours of learning Algebra and the like he spent before going to Hogwarts.

"It makes no sense that they do not teach the more basic classes at Hogwarts. How are we supposed to improve our writing and arithmetic if we don't have the advanced classes?" Harry wondered out loud to himself once he was out of the study room.

"I could not agree more." A silky voice echoed from down the hall, and the slightly glowing figure of his "cousin", Narcissa, proceeded towards him.

"Good Afternoon, My Lady." Harry bowed slightly.

Narcissa smiled. "You've been practicing."

Harry nodded. "Yes, Ma'm. Draco's still in working out his stock assignment."

Narcissa nodded. "Those always gave me a fit. Would you care for a spot of tea before the next lessons?"

"That would be lovely." Harry followed Narcissa to one of the private family libraries, a cozy room which housed important family documents and heirlooms. It was a dark blue and green, with gold touches. The Malfoy Crest was displayed over a cheery fireplace, which kept a low flame to keep the dampness away.

"So, Harry." Narcissa summoned the house elf, who gave Harry a funny look before pouring the tea for them both. "No trip to America this year?"

"Actually, I'm leaving for the States on the 5th of August, and will come back around the 25th. My Grandmother would have an absolute fit if I missed time with her over there, although she's made plans to come over here for some of the shorter holidays."

"Do you like it over there?" Narcissa leaned forward, her golden hair catching the firelight in a way that made her glow.

"It's pretty nice. I'm kind of jealous of my cousins who go to school there. They learn so many more things than we do at Hogwarts. Did you know they are required to take a Spellcrafting class as well as Dueling? They have three different classes related to Runes: Elfin Runes, Ancient Runes and Modern Runes. My Aunt does everything she can to keep me up with their curriculum, but it would be so much easier if Hogwarts taught more classes per year, and dropped the useless ones like Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. If people are interested in those they can learn plenty about it after Hogwarts. The school should focus on things everybody wants to learn."

Narcissa looked at the dark haired boy sitting in front of her. His personality was very different from what she had imagined. He was quiet, smart, and always performed the rituals correctly, but she had never had the occasion to sit with him like this. Although she had been older than James Potter, they were still family, and she knew him pretty well before the War divided them all. She was glad, however, that James' mother had stayed close to the family. Narcissa shuddered to think what might have happened to the clearly intelligent boy who sat in front of her if somebody else had been raising him.

Outwardly, Narcissa nodded. "It is rather frustrating for those of us who wish to keep tradition by sending children to Hogwarts, only to have them come back complaining about the curriculum. I know Lucius plans on engaging extra tutors for Draco in the subjects Hogwarts neglects, or fails to teach properly."

Harry smiled. "Aunt Cassi is doing the same thing for Dru and I. She hasn't settled on whether or not the twins will go to Hogwarts or Beauxbatons, but since Orion is the first male Black in a generation he has to go."

Narcissa nodded. Tristian might have been a Black by blood, but the name carried with it so many responsibilities that had fallen by the wayside thanks to her wayward cousin Regulus. Tristian's obligations were to the Lestranges, besides. "Maybe the girls would benefit from a Beauxbatons education."

Harry smiled. "Yeah. I wish I could have gone to Burundy, but I couldn't. Had to go to Hogwarts."

Narcissa understood perfectly. She and her sisters had been through the same battle, wishing to go to Drumstang or Beauxbatons rather than Hogwarts. That was during the rare time before Andromeda turned blood- traitor and married that Tonks boy.

Draco entered at that moment, and gave his mother a strange look. He did not expect Harry to be sitting in on what was usually his personal teatime with his mother.

"Good Afternoon, Mother." Draco nodded to Narcissa, and sat down.

Narcissa rose her eyebrow at Draco, who caught the significance quickly.

"Good Afternoon, Harry." Draco nodded to Harry as well.

"Good Afternoon, Draco. I trust you will be joining us for tea?" Harry practically smirked.

"Yes." Draco said simply. He accepted the offered tea and scone and waited.

Narcissa, who was the true 'hostess' of the bunch, smiled at her son. "Harry was just sharing his displeasure with the curriculum at Hogwarts."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yes. You can't possibly tell me there is a reason to waste tuition money on a class like Care of Magical Creatures." Harry shook his head.

Draco snorted. "More of a waste of time is Muggle Studies. Father says that Dumbeldore insisted on adding that class to the curriculum when he became Headmaster. He tossed out all the useful professors and replaced them with his followers."

Harry fought hard against rolling his eyes. Headmaster Dumbledore had been a constant thorn in his side with his strange meetings and offerings of candy. "I don't trust the Headmaster. He has tried to be too friendly to me for my liking. Always calling me by my first name and 'my boy'. I don't feel very comfortable about that."

Narcissa paused, mid sip. "You haven't taken any candy from him, have you?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Ma'm. Something about him creeped me out the first time he called me to his office. I make sure that I've had a full meal before going in so that I'm not even tempted."

Narcissa relaxed visibly. "Every class has their theories, but the Slytherins in my year were convinced Dumbledore kept truth serum lemon drops and some sort of other potion laced drug in the raspberry soothers he keeps on his desk. That, and he's a fully trained Legilimens. Even if you know not to look him in the eye, you relax somehow in his office, sucking on your sweet in those plushy chairs, and your mind is an open book."

Draco nodded sagely. "Even if Father didn't tell me to avoid being in the Headmaster's office by myself if I could help it, my Housemates made it one of the unwritten rules of Slytherin. If any one of us were to ever get called to the Headmaster's office, we are to request that a Prefect or Professor Snape accompany us. "

Harry scowled. "I wish I had known! I would have made Dora go with me!"

Narcissa shook her head. "No. Nymphandora had enough problems last year without adding Dumbledore's displeasure to the mix. Her parents are staunch supporters of Dumbledore, and her legal separation from the Tonks family had to go through the Wizengamot Family Court. Dumbledore may not sit on that august body, but he does have puppets who do."

Harry frowned. "It's unfortunate, then. I do not wish to have to suffer through any more of those meetings that interrupt my study time."

Narcissa nodded, smiling. "That we can do. We'll just have the Board of Governors draft up a resolution stating that non-disciplinary meetings with the Headmaster should be voluntary, and that the Head of House should manage discipline matters. It is highly improper for young children and young adults to be in a closed office with no witnesses. Even detentions are done in groups. At least they were in my day."

Both Harry and Draco shrugged. "I haven't had a detention yet." Harry informed Narcissa, and Draco nodded. "Me either. Usually Slytherins have to do detention with Professor Snape, and he usually has some wayward Gryffindor in there as well."

Harry added his two pence. "Professor Flitwick usually assigns lines and research in lieu of detention."

Narcissa leaned back in her chair. "Nevertheless, things have gotten out of hand at that school, as I am sure Lucius is well aware." A bell chimed deep in the house. "Off with you two! I'm sure you'll need your books for your next lesson."

Draco and Harry stood up, and bowed towards Narcissa before leaving the room. It was not until they got to the hallway that they broke out in a run towards Draco's wing, where they both had rooms, in order to grab their books in time for the next lesson.

Meanwhile Narcissa pulled out a bit of parchment and began writing a letter. She would see her aunt in less than a fortnight for Harry's birthday, but sometimes seeing it in writing was worth all the trouble, and made a greater impact.

* * *

Harry was dressed in his summer robes, purchased specifically for the occasion. They were a rare set of dark green robes, as he usually preferred blue. They were embroidered with silver detailing, and he wore his Potter ring, a newly cast item to show his status as the Potter Heir, as he had not yet found the official one his father would have given him. His normally unruly hair was slicked back with pomade, and his bright green eyes shone with excitement. The entire outfit was designed to reflect his status as both the birthday boy and a member of a wealthy and important family, without being too showy. They were made of the finest Egyptian cotton, and charmed to keep him cool during the party, as it turned out to be a rather hot and humid day on the island.

Drusilla appeared next to him, seemingly out of thin air. Her golden hair was braided in a single plait down her back, and she wore a light green sundress, her new Black family pendant hanging delicately on a white gold chain on her neck. This one was encrusted in pave diamonds, emeralds and onyx, adding color where it belonged on the crest. She smiled at the boy she considered a brother.

"Shall we go?" She drawled, obviously having picked up the habit over the summer.

Harry nodded and offered an arm. Until Dru had her own escort for parties, Harry filled in. It did not hurt matters that Dru would be the talk of the party, with her sun kissed skin and delicate features.

They exited the manor, having used the Potter Villa for the occasion, and entered the garden.

There Harry was assaulted by his friends, even though they knew he had to make 'rounds' before he could enjoy their company.

"Hi everyone." Harry beamed.

Daphne curtsied. "Hello Harry." She too looked very stunning in a dark blue sundress, her Greengrass pendant hanging from her neck. Although it was a much simpler version of Drusilla's, it still looked appropriate.

"Hey." Blaise and Theo chorused. Blaise was dressed in dark robes, cut in the Italian style. Harry couldn't decide whether they were dark green or closer to black, but shrugged the thought from his mind. Theo was wearing black robes, his dark hair hanging about his face without managing to look like a curtain.

Harry spotted Draco, who was wearing light grey robes, being hounded by Pansy Parkinson, who wore a light yellow dress. His two body guards, Crabbe and Goyle, were noticeably absent.

"Oh wow!" Daphne breathed, and Harry turned around to see what caused the reaction.

Neville Longbottom entered, with a delicate looking blonde on his arm. He was blushing furiously, but looked very dashing in dark blue robes similar to Harry's. The boy also looked less chubby, and much healthier since he had spent a couple of weeks on the island. Neville walked up to Harry and smiled.

"Hey Harry." Neville stopped. "This is Luna Lovegood. She's going to be a first year student, and lives near one of my uncles."

The girl in question looked up at Harry and gave a slightly vacant looking smile. "Hi Harry." She wore a dark blue dress and radish earrings. A most interesting bracelet adorned her arm, but the blue dress contrasted perfectly with her light blue eyes.

"What's that on your arm, Luna?" Daphne asked. Luna lifted her arm and showed her wrist off.

"Butterbeer caps. My dad shrank down one of my necklaces for the occasion. It keeps the nargles away." She smiled.

Daphne looked at the younger girl quizzically, but before she could say anything, Orion Black was standing in the center of the garden ringing a bell, with Augusta Longbottom standing beside him.

"I see that our guests of honor have arrived. Join us in congratulating Harry and Neville in celebrating another birthday!"

There were cheers and applause from the gathered crowd. "The food should be arriving shortly, and after we eat there will be entertainment. But for now, let us enjoy ourselves." Augusta shot a rare smile at the crowd, who cheered again.

* * *

Harry plopped down on the couch in his lounge. He was exhausted. The party had been better than he expected, and the mountain of gifts to his right simply proved it. The adults were still socializing, but his group of friends had been excused, and were now enjoying the relative calm of the lounge to drink lemonade and watch as Harry and Neville opened presents. He would open some of them, as would Neville, but the majority of them would be opened at the more private brunch his family would have tomorrow.

"This one's from Daphne." Harry reached into the pile of gifts and selected the one Daphne had given him. He opened it up and found a pair of lightweight Quiddich gloves.

"A hint, Ms. Greengrass?" Daphne blushed and everybody else laughed.

"Hm. Theo." Harry pulled another gift from the pile and opened it up. "_A Practical Guide To Modern Potions." _Harry smiled. It was a book that had just come out this summer, and he had not had the chance to buy himself a copy. He opened it up and found that this one had been autographed by the author. "Thank you, Theo."

The important gifts were opened. Blaise got him a custom broom polishing kit, Draco a custom-made leather ledger book, Drusilla a book on Egyptian Wizarding History, and Neville a book on safely harvesting Potion ingredients. The most unexpected book was from Luna, whom he had just met.

"_Fantastic Beasts: Humane Harvesting for Potions Use" _ It was not a book he had ever seen, but he was deeply grateful. "Thank you, Luna." Harry smiled. "Although I wonder why so many of you got me Potions books."

Draco smirked. "For as good as you are at Potions, you still need help to be at my level."

Theo joined in. "Yeah, mate. And your parents left you enough Charms and Transfiguration books, so we figured you didn't need any of them."

Harry smiled. "I knew it was a bad idea to let you see my collection."

Daphne snorted. "Let him see? Every spare moment you're reading one of those Charms books from your trunk. The entire House assumes you're a Charms prodigy."

Harry shrugged. It was true, but Charms was such a useful subject. He enjoyed it, and hoped to be able to study books written by foreign authors on the subject in the future.

For Neville, Harry had gotten _From Herbology to Potions: Using your knowledge of plants to make better Potions. _Neville had also received an advanced gardening kit from Daphne, a book on protective magic from Blaise, and a book of jinxes from Theo. Harry was also surprised to find that Draco had thought ahead and gotten Neville a book on simple wards. When Neville looked at Draco questioningly the boy simply shrugged.

"Seemed like a good idea, after last year."

Luna had gotten him what looked like a box of seeds, but Neville beamed.

"These are some pretty rare seeds from around the world. The local seed store in Diagon Alley doesn't usually carry them. Thanks Luna!"

Harry smiled. He hoped that Luna would be a good friend to Neville. Harry tried his best, but Neville needed all the help he could get after being so sheltered his entire life. Neville seemed to have settled down after his initial nervousness and actually got along well with Theo and Daphne. Blaise it was always hard to tell with, and Draco was Draco. Harry wasn't even sure that Draco had actual friends and not just future business partners.

Daphne laughed, and Harry focused back in on the conversation.

* * *

Harry always felt uncomfortable using the Muggle airport. He did it every year, and every year he hated it more. Not being able to summon a house elf to serve him to his heart's desire on a flight over the ocean. Fourteen hours of dealing with Muggle food and uncomfortable seats was difficult. A cushioning charm and a silencing barrier to keep the noise of screaming infants at bay would have gone quite a long way.

The problem basically was that if he charmed any of his belongings, the technology on the plane might not work. Harry could not fully recall whose theory it was, but some half-blood or whatnot who experimented with charming electronic devices, which became a failure.

So the flight had been miserable, and he had to wait until he got to his grandmother's house before he could even attempt to use magic. He was deeply thankful for the loophole in the underage magic monitoring system that allowed him to do magic over the summer unhindered.

If the plane was not terrible enough, moving through the concourse and customs with his paperwork was also a great bother. He would also have to go through American Wizard Customs, but that was a much less laborious process, since his grandmother was a citizen.

However, before any of this could occur, he had to push his way through the crowds to get his 'luggage'. His real trunk was stashed inside with a featherlight charm, about the only thing he could cast on it that would not cause problems. It really would raise too many eyebrows if a 12-year-old boy showed up on a cross-Atlantic flight without even a carry on bag.

As Harry had taken the latest flight possible, it was just before 5am at LaGuardia. One of his maternal aunts would pick him up and take him to the house in New York they had recently purchased.

"Hey Harry!" Harry turned to the source of the voice and found his grandmother's brother-in-law Roger standing at the gate.

"Hi Uncle Roger." Harry walked to his uncle and gave the man a giant smile.

"You've gotten taller. How's life across the pond treating ya?"

"Fairly well. Where's Aunt Elisabeth?"

"At the house already. She and your grandmother have been up half the night getting ready for you."

Harry smiled. "Sounds like them. The twins?"

"Will be on break in a week." Roger took Harry's bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Was the flight any trouble?"

Harry shook his head. "None aside from the usual. I really wish we had a more private way to travel across from England."

Roger nodded. "Our best people are working on it. Private charter planes for those who can afford it." Going unspoken was that if Harry were not already independently wealthy, his family in America could well afford such a luxury.

"So, what are we going to do?" Harry looked up at the tall man with dark reddish-brown hair.

"Well, we have one surprise, but since you've never been to New York we're going to do a whole tour. I think Mom has tickets for a show, up to Maine for seafood since you liked it so much on the bay, and maybe watching the Blackbird Flyers at practice and a pre-season match against the Toronto Maples. "

Harry's eyes bugged out of his head. "Quiddich!"

Harry gave his uncle a hug, and they climbed into the waiting town car that would escort them out to East Hampton, where the newest family home sat.

* * *

Ginny Weasley looked forlornly at the used cauldron she had to use for Potions class. It was well worn, with signs that a heavy brush had tried to clear rust or some unknown substance from the side, and numerous dings and dents. Everybody else would have a new one, but there hadn't been enough money for that after the book bill came in. Stupid DADA teacher! Had to assign all new books that nobody had used or on discount! Bill had sent along a little bit of change for them all, and Ginny had saved up her allowance for almost a year in order to have a new cloak and wand. One of her uniforms would also be new, as she was the only girl and there wasn't a hand-me down to be had, but the spares would come from Gladrags.

Ginny sniffed. She spent a whole year and a half not spending money just to look halfway decent when she showed up to Hogwarts. While Ron and Fred and George spent money at the candy store, she wanted to make sure she made a good impression and not look like she only had one spare uniform to her name. A lot of good all that saving did her! She had only managed to save twenty galleons, and that was including the two that Bill had sent her and the one that Charlie had sent her. All of her other belongings would be used, and she didn't even have a spare kunt to buy a shoe shine kit to de-scuff her casual shoes.

Ginny's focus shifted to the pile of books that had come out of her cauldron. There had been a scuffle with Mr. Malfoy, who had his son and three dark haired kids around Ron's age with him, but the embarrassment had only been minor. She still couldn't decide if either the shopkeeper felt pity on her family for being so poor, or felt pity on her for being the only girl in a group of boys, because she was sure that the nice leather journal was not a part of the standard first year book set.

Ginny sat down at her desk, one of Bill's old ones, and pulled out the leather journal. She had cleaned off the dust, and flipped through it to find it empty. Looking at it now, she could not wait to take a quill to it and write down all he frustrations. All her brothers already knew about Hogwarts, and would tease her about asking questions. Ginny didn't need that, even if she already knew a couple of spells thanks to the twins. She decided that maybe writing them out would be fun, since Luna never wanted to play anymore.

_Dear Diary, _

_ I start Hogwarts pretty soon, and I'm very nervous. All my brothers are in Gryffindor, but if I land there I will just be another Weasley in Gryffindor. Maybe it won't be so bad, and there will be girls I can talk to. From what Percy tells me it takes a lot of smart people to get into Ravenclaw. The twins tease him that its because of his girlfriend, apparently she's a Ravenclaw. My friend is a little crazy sometimes, but she's always reading. I think she'll be a Ravenclaw. _

_ Mum has told me all my life that I'll grow up to marry Harry Potter, but now I don't know. He's a Ravenclaw, they say. I want to marry him and be his wife. There isn't anything else I want more! _

* * *

Dobby was in dire straights. His master had done something very wrong, and he could not even keep Harry Potter from going to Hogwarts. Every time he went to find him the boy was surrounded by other people! Now Dobby did not even know where the great Harry Potter had even gone to!

Dobby was panicked, and punished himself twice every time he thought about it. He punished himself for not telling Harry Potter that it was too dangerous for him to return to Hogwarts, and again for daring that he might betray his Master.

Master was going to do something very bad! He had already done something very bad!

BANG! Dobby hit his head on the closest wal. Master was a good Master who did not punish Dobby too badly. He did not drink and abuse him like he had heard was done to other house elves, he did not make impossible demands and watch as the house elf struggled to do the impossible.

Yes yes, Master was a good master. He gave lots of work to do and Master was wonderful!

* * *

So this was more about Harry's life outside of school. I felt like I wasn't doing a good enough job explaining how growing up in a stable, pureblood family changed his outlook and his actions at Hogwarts.


	14. Twisting Links

Harry sat, enjoying the scenery for once on the Hogwarts Express. Things were still blissfully quiet, as his compartment was once again only filled with his closest friends. Harry had heard rumors, and they turned out to be true. Christope, his dorm mate and occasional friend, had transferred to a Canadian wizards academy after the death of his parents. All Theo knew was that it was Muggle related. Harry shrugged mentally as the countryside flashed past him.

Filling his compartment were his customary friends: Theo, Blaise, Daphne, Tracey, and the newcomer Neville. The group had lucked out in getting one of the larger compartments that would fit them all. When Miranda came to join them there would be plenty of room for her, as well.

"Gotcha!" Theo smirked. Blaise glowered at the chess board, as if his pieces had offended him by playing horribly. The Queen, having been captured, saw that look and shook her tiny fists at Blaise. Tracey, who was watching the game with half a bit of interest, laughed.

"See! Even your pieces think your pants at chess, Blaise."

Blaise glowered at Tracey, who ducked back down into her review of the second-year Charms book. Daphne was similarly occupied, but with the second-year Potions book.

Neville sat reviewing Transfiguration and smiling softly. It seemed, that after seeing how Neville interacted with Harry and his friends, Augusta decided that Neville really did need a wand of his own. His new wand was 13" and ash with dragon heartstring core. It was an unusual wand, but it fit Neville. Simply having a better wand had improved Neville's work in Transfiguration, and he approached the subject with renewed zeal.

There was a knock on the door, and Harry cancelled the locking charm with a wave of the wand. Standing in front of him was Draco and Miranda.

"Hello." Harry greeted the pair. "Where's your sister?"

Mira rolled her eyes. "Holding court with Pansy, Sally Anne and Millicent."

"Sally-Anne Perks. She doesn't seem the type to associate with the likes of Pansy and Millicent." Harry observed. Sally Anne was a petite little girl with brown hair, coffee colored skin and gray eyes. She was quiet, from what Harry had seen of her, and spent almost as much time in the Library as a Ravenclaw revising for NEWTS.

"She doesn't, but she's best friends with Titania, and even came over to visit for a couple of weeks this summer. I think the two of them just tolerate Parkinson and Bulstrode. " Miranda spoke, while motioning for Harry to move over so she could sit.

Harry cleared to the side and Miranda took a seat. He remembered her appearing with Titania a few times, watching games from the sidelines. The scary thing was that Sally-Anne was such a non-threatening looking girl, but anybody who could hold their own with Titania was worth the extra precaution. Especially if she was spending time at the Lestrange home, where Harry was certain the twins and Tristan were learning dark hexes.

Draco looked put out, so Tracey moved over and Draco sat down. Draco turned to Neville, and watched him for a minute.

"New wand, Longbottom?"

Neville looked up and halfway smiled. "Yeah. Got it over the summer."

Draco just nodded. "I have next." He watched the game Blaise was losing to Theo, and simply settled down to wait for the inevitable.

Harry looked at his cousin with mock interest. "Is there a reason why you're in here, rather than in your compartment?"

Draco shuddered. "Pansy. She's being way too girly and trying to touch me all the time. UGH! Not even the treat of Titania can keep her away from me."

Harry smirked. "Is Drakkie afwaid of a wittle girl?"

Draco's eyes darkened. "Don't start, Potter."

Harry laughed. "Alwight, Drakkie."

Tracey looked up and smirked. "That's what she calls him around the dorm room. My Drakkie this and my Drakkie that. You'd think she was talking about a poodle."

Draco looked slightly green and so Harry decided to change the subject. "Hey Draco, are you going out for your team this year?"

Draco puffed up. "Of course. And you will go out for your team and that way I can finally beat you fair and square."

Harry shrugged. "It's nice to have dreams, Malfoy."

Draco frowned, but turned his attention to the chess game, which was just ending.

"Ready to lose, Malfoy?" Theo looked at the blonde second-year Slytherin.

"Malfoys never lose." Draco smirked, and took his chess set out of the bag. Harry knew from experience that this was one of three sets Draco had, and even though this one was silver with each piece bearing the Malfoy crest in some way, it was not his most expensive set, by far. Draco had a set, given to him by his grandfather Malfoy before he died, which was solid platinum and emerald and gold detailing in the Malfoy crest, along with other embellishments. Harry had a similar set, platinum with sapphire in the Potter crest, he rarely used it, but he practiced with it just in case a game worthy of such an expensive set came up. The sets he brought to school were silver, with the Potter crest, and pewter with mother-of-pearl and a purple stone that had once belonged to his mother,

Harry watched the game with mild interest, knowing that Theo and Draco were pretty evenly matched. He was better than Blaise, but by no means could he beat Draco or Theo.

"So, Mira, how was the end of the summer?" Harry turned to his cousin and she put her book down.

"Decent enough. Spent some time at Draco's because of Mother, went shopping in Italy with Auntie Cissy, and watched Dora move into the north wing of Malfoy Manor."

Harry raised an eyebrow. He had heard that rather than live in one of the Black family properties as was her right, Nymphadora had decided to move into Malfoy Manor. "Did she say why?"

Miranda nodded. "She's not ready to live on her own, at least not yet. She missed out on loads of training for our society, and Auntie Cissy has agreed to give her a crash course just to spite Andromeda."

Harry shrugged. "Seems as good a reason as any. Didn't she want to go off to become an Auror?"

Miranda shook her head. "She did. She told us that it was not a very well thought out plan. She's going to get her Mastery in Charms and perhaps try and get a position at the Ministry. Now that she's at the Maonr she doesn't have to rush into a decision."

Draco interjected. "Knowing Father, he'll have Nymphadora a job at the Ministry within the month. Check."

Theo swore under his breath, and Harry noticed it was getting darker. "Must be getting close. I'm off to change."

Blaise put down his book. "I"ll come along." Neville nodded as well and the three boys went off to put on their school robes. Harry had a brand new set from Italy, since there was no official rule stating that Hogwarts students past the first year had to get their robes from an English shop in Diagon Alley. Madam Malkin's was a tradition for first years, but older students usually got robes from elsewhere. Neville had gone on that trip with him, and now donned his Gryffindor robes with pride, knowing he would be the best-dressed boy in his year.

"Here we go!" Harry smiled, and they set off to begin a new year.

* * *

"Lovegood, Luna!"

The pale blonde girl that had come with Neville to Harry's party stepped up to the podium. If Harry had known the phrase, he would have called her look Bohemian. She wore her hair in loose curls down her back, with tiny twin braids framing her face. Her earrings were still radishes, and she wore the butterbeer cap bracelet, as well as corks around her neck.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The Ravneclaw table clapped politely as another first-year joined their ranks. Everything from there proceeded smoothly until.

"Weasley, Ginny!"

The hall watched as a tiny red-haired girl walked up to the stool and sat down. As she sat Daphne leaned in and whispered "It's no wonder they're so poor. There's seven of them, and five at Hogwarts now."

Harry had met the Prefect, Percy, in passing, as he was dating one of the Ravenclaw Prefects. The twins he only knew by reputation, and the other Weasley, Ron, he had the unfortunate pleasure of knowing. He hoped that this incarnation was not as bad as her older brother.

"It's been a long time." Theo mentioned offhandedly, eyeing the girl with veiled interest.

Harry had to agree. The girl looked paler than she had before, and on the verge of tears.

After what seemed like an eternity, the youngest Weasley was announced. "GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers, and the girl looked almost pasty white as she slid the hat from her head, and promptly burst into tears. She went flying out of the Great Hall, at which point Professor McGonagall and no less than four Gryffindors went chasing after her.

"That was unusual." A fourth year a few places from Harry mumbled. The others within earshot all nodded in agreement.

"Now that all of the students have been sorted." Headmaster Dumbledore announced, after Callista White became a Ravenclaw and Hadrian White a Slytherin, "We can begin our feast!"

As soon as the food appeared, Harry missed the light French fare that had been the norm over the summer, but took a healthy portion of steak and kidney pie, a slice of roasted lamb and a big scoop of buttery peas.

Halfway through the course the newest Weasley, Ginny came back in trailing behind Professor McGonagall. She obediently sat at the furthest end of the table, purposefully ignoring the stares of her housemates. The oldest Weasley, Percy, went over to her and Harry caught a glimpse of a very rude gesture before turning his attention back to his own dinner.

"Hey, where's Weasley?" Daphne looked over at the Gryffindor table.

Harry fought against rolling his eyes. "Which one and why do you care?"

"The one our year, and because he's the only one not talking to his sister at the moment. He doesn't seem to be here."

Harry looked up and it was true. The twins and Percy were currently surrounding the youngest Weasley, but the red-headed-menace was nowhere to be found.

"Maybe he forgot it was time to start school." Theo supplied smugly. The group of friends laughed, earning glares from Turpin and Fawcett.

"Maybe he got all Trolls last year and was asked not to return." Miranda smirked, earning more laughs from the group of Ravenclaws.

Dinner continued to dessert, and the missing Weasley never turned up. The youngest girl Weasley, newly sorted into Gryffindor, never moved from the end of the table. Soon the first years went off to the dorm, and the older students lounged a while longer to allow the firsties the opportunity to find their way to the common room.

* * *

Harry woke up early, like he usually did, and practiced his Occlumency and getting first crack at the empty shared shower. He descended down to the common room to find a couple of first years, one of whom he recognized as Luna Lovegood.

"Hi Harry." Luna smiled.

"Hi Luna. How was the rest of your summer?"

Luna shrugged. "Diagon Alley and helping Daddy with the paper."

"Paper?" Harry sat down on one of the plush dark blue chairs and looked at the blonde first year.

"My Dad publishes the Quibbler."

Harry had never heard of the Quibbler before, but decided to save that conversation for another day. "You're Callista, right?"

The girl with very curly blonde hair nodded. "Callista White. I was just trying to convince Luna to sign up for lessons. I don't want to be the only Ravenclaw there."

Harry shook his head. "You shouldn't be."

Callista frowned. "The other two girls in our year are mean, catty, girly and half-bloods. "

Luna shrugged. "I will think about it. I'm not much for that type of bigotry."

Harry replied simply. "It's not really bigotry, its just tradition. We learn about rites, rituals, and other stuff. Go to the first class. You'll be surprised who turns up."

Luna smiled softly, but did not give a definite answer. Soon the rest of the second years descended down the stairs, and Harry gave a backwards wave to Callista and Luna, who were politely waiting for the rest of their year-mates.

Down at the Great Hall, Harry watched with mild interest as Ron Weasley gesticulated wildly to the other Gryffindors. He wondered where the boy had been, but he would not have to wait long for that answer.

As Harry was tucking into his breakfast, the morning mail came in. A large red envelope descended upon the Gryffindor table and tore itself open.

"Ronald Billius Weasley! I cannot believe you had the audacity to STEAL your FATHER'S CAR and FLY to Hogwarts! IT was completely irresponsible of you and now your father is in trouble at work!" The voice yelled. Most students, including Harry, recognized the voice as Molly Weasley, who was known to send howlers to her children. Ron had gotten quite a few of them over the past year for things he had done at school. This one continued to tear into Ron, who was blushing madly. The youngest redheaded girl had again bolted from the table at the sound of her mother's voice, but nobody had made a move to go find her, too transfixed by the talking to Ron was getting from the Howler.

The Howler finally tore itself up and vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a red faced Ron sitting there, with the entire school enjoying a laugh at his expense.

"Well, I guess we figured out where your boyfriend was, Daph." Theo stated dryly. Daphne shot Theo a glare, and continued to eat her breakfast.

The timetables came out, and with the exception of Potions being switched to Slytherin-Ravenclaw and Astronomy being moved to a different night there were no major changes.

* * *

Almost a week into the new Term and Harry was settling into his new classes with ease. His parent's books continued to be a source of knowledge for him, and he enjoyed working on his extra-curricular project with Daphne, Blaise, Neville and Susan Bones. They had been broken into teams based on houses, but because there was an odd number of students his group and one other ended up with an extra person. They were out on the lawn studying when Draco and Titania came rushing over to them.

"Did you hear?"

Daphne looked up. "Hear what?"

Titania flipped a dark lock over her shoulder and smiled. "They're going to start up a Dueling Club. Our Head of House told us last night during our weekly meeting, and they'll announce it during dinner. Everybody will be at the first meeting, and then we'll be broken up by year to continue for the rest of the year."

Harry smiled at that. "Sounds like fun. You finally get to practice those curses Aunt Bella teaches you on unsuspecting innocents."

Titania scowled. "Don't be ridiculous! The spells Mother teaches me are hardly proper to be casting about in front of mudbloods, especially with Professor Snape in charge."

Harry smirked. "But didn't your Mother specifically teach them to you to USE on mudbloods?"

Titania smirked back. "Duh! But most of them aren't really good in one of these types of duels. They're way too structured, and I still haven't mastered the Shield Shattering Curse we've been working on this summer. Most of the things Mother teaches us are battle curses anyway, meant to be fired in successive chains to keep the enemy off balance."

"Fair enough." Harry let the subject drop, but he was more concerned that Lockhart would be in charge. The man was a fraud, anybody with half a brain could see that. Most of the Ravenclaws and a good number of Slytherins he knew were already forming plans to how they would survive the year under his incompetent teaching. Harry was more thankful than ever that he had been studying at Malfoy Manor. Hogwarts had already destroyed History of Magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts last year, and his first class with Lockhart had been an epic disaster.

"Creepy, 10 o'clock." Blaise announced, and they all looked up to see the firstie Gryffindor making a beeline for Harry, camera in tow.

Harry rolled his eyes and made a mental note to do something about Colin Creevey, who had been following him around since the third day of the term. Draco had a good laugh about it the first few times they spotted the boy hiding trying to sneak pictures of Harry, but now it was getting out of hand.

"Not again!" Harry sighed.

Titania shrugged. "I say you hex him one good time. That will keep him away."

It was times like this that Harry wished he could wear his Invisibility Cloak all the time. He hated having to deal with these stupid people and their obsession with what happened to him as a baby. Clearly ignoring the creeper didn't work, but what would?

Neville spotted the look on Harry's ashen face at the approach of Colin Creevey. A lot of his housemates were bothered by the first year who was always begging for pictures. The boy had already been pranked once by the Weasley twins, albeit mildly. He popped up and smiled, sort of.

"I'll handle it." Neville grabbed his bag, and tossed over his shoulder. "Later guys, we can finish up in the library."

The group watched as Neville went over to Colin, stopping him about halfway to where Harry and his friends were sitting, and steering him in another direction. Said Creevey looked skeptical at first, but then brightened up at something Neville said and went flying in the direction of the Black Lake.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding, and Blaise smirked at him. "You really should do something about that boy."

Harry shrugged. "It's so odd. I know what happened to my parents, but the hero worship for surviving a spell? I don't understand. Besides, I don't want to hurt anybody."

Blaise shrugged and Titania spoke up.

"It's not always about hurting somebody, although sometimes that's the only way people will understand. If you don't let people know that you don't appreciate being treated like an object, they will continue to do it, and it will get worse as you get older."

"Harry think about it." Miranda said. "The sooner you act the better off things will be."

Titania was nodding. "You have got to start putting these half-bloods and blood traitors in their place. Look around you, Potter. What's the point of being nice to people who are beneath you? Creepy is a mudblood! If Aunt Cassi and Uncle Orion haven't taught you as much as that he is beneath your notice and needs to be taught a lesson about his actions then you aren't the pureblood I thought you were."

Harry shrugged. "I'll think about it."

Just then a bell chimed, indicating it was time for dinner. "You guys go ahead. I want to sit out here for a while longer." Harry said.

"What will you do for dinner?" Miranda asked.

"Summon a house-elf, of course. In _A Pureblood's Guide to Hogwarts _I read that you can summon your family elf on weekends if you happen to miss a meal. They can go retrieve a plate from the kitchens."

"Of COURSE a book!" Titania snorted at her bookworm cousin. "If you need any help you should write Mother. She's bound to have good suggestions for dealing with mudbloods."

"I'll think about it. I'll see you lot later." With that the rest of the group drifted towards the castle doors, while Harry leaned against his elbows and looked up at the sky. He could see owls flying towards the Owelry, fluffy white clouds hanging in the sky, and the occasional bird flying around. He was deep in thought.

'I've never been outright MEAN to the muggleborns, but I've never had a reason to be. I can't be a git like Draco is, and I don't have the spirit to hex them behind their backs like Titania... after all, everybody thought my mother was a muggleborn until she died, even though they all know that she wasn't. ' Harry thought to himself. 'But between Weasley last year and Creepy this year… what if it does get worse? I've never actually read any of those books written about me. What if they say things I have to defend myself from?'

Harry recalled a conversation he had with Neville about meeting Granger on the train. Neville had told him that the girl had read all these books, and was going on and on about Harry Potter being the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry had seen a bit of that when he met the girl that day in his compartment.

A scary thought thy then occupied his mind. Draco had also told him, regarding the same train ride, that Weasley had been going about claiming they were best mates. What if he hadn't grown up as privileged as he was? What if he had been without his childhood friends on the train, in a compartment by himself? Would he even have known Draco? Would he even have wanted to? Sure the boy irked him more often than not, but Draco was family, and after spending a lot of time in Malfoy Manor he could see where Draco got his attitude. He was as privileged as anybody Harry knew, and as an only child got all the attention he could swallow.

Aunt Cassi had never really explained much about how he ended up with her family, only that his father and Arcturus, along with several others, had engaged in old family blood magic to contractually obligate members of the Black family to raise children with Black blood. Any children his parents had were bound to the Black family. As Aunt Cissy and Bella were not invited to the meeting, it fell to his Aunt Cassi and Uncle Orion to sign the contract with his father.

She had done so willingly, and he had done the same for her, as his other cousin, Ursula was too young and considered too unstable. But what if they hadn't? What if the Black Family elders had just ignored his father and mother and left whomever to determine where he lived? He'd read enough about orphanages to not want to live in one.

Harry decided. He owed his family elders as much to preserve the interest they had shown him before he was even born. He would not be the one to taint it by letting any and everybody think they could just 'associate' with him!

* * *

It was no secret that Ginny Weasley was an outcast in her House. According to the rumor mill, it was two weeks into the term and she had yet to introduce herself to her dorm mates, and she sat at the far end of the table, eating quickly and darting away as soon as she could. The rumor mill had it that she hadn't even spoken to a member of her House, or any other Hogwarts student who wasn't a redhead with a Weasley jumper in their wardrobe. She lost House points daily because she refused to wear her House tie and robes, sticking to all black ones instead. When, the first few times, Professor McGonagall had transfigured her tie, she had promptly ripped them off and glared at the teacher. Eventually Professor McGonagall said she would deduct five points for every day Ginny went without wearing her House tie and robes. Said first year Gryffindor had not even blinked. She was also rumored to be an awful tattletale, going to Filch and Professor Snape whenever she thought she could get her hosuemates into trouble. While she did not tattle on the twins directly, she did tattle on their friend, Lee Jordan for pranks that the three had likely performed together.

There was even a rumor, albeit a far fetched one, that she had charmed all of her school belongings green and that the inside of her curtains and bed linens were Slytherin colors. Not that nobody believed it of the girl who seemed to hate her own house more than most Slytherins, but nobody believed that a first year could do the magic and have it stick.

Ginny heard the rumors. They were all true. The inside of her bed was as Slytherin as it got. She could sit amongst the blissful darkness of green and silver for hours on end, blocking out the sound with a handy charm she had learned from reading a book. She also wrote. The little leather book she had found gave her such a comfortable feeling when she wrote in it. She felt blissful when she wrote, like all the cares of the world melted away through her ink. The journal had the added bonus of deleting whatever it was that she had previously written, so there was no record of her misery in the painfully bright Gryffindor House.

Whenever she wrote in the journal she felt so empty, so free. Whenever she wasn't sitting in class she would find someplace to write in the journal. The Library was the safest place, not many people would think to look for the small first year in the dark corner of the Library, and as soon as she could perfect that concealment charm she would stay there indefinitely. She was currently perched on the very edge of the Gryffindor table, in her customary all black attire, eating quickly and itching to get back to her beloved journal.

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, Severus Snape looked at the red-haired female Weasley with growing unease. He was not sure, but he thought that maybe the artifact had already entered the school, and that the Weasley girl would be its first victim. Never before had he seen such a violent aversion to one's own house. Especially since the girl had grown up in a family full of Gryffindors. So it was not one, but two figures who slipped out of the Great Hall into the shadows, each to tend to a desperate need.

* * *

Chapter DONE. Up next, Dueling Club, and what not. Read, Review, Enjoy!


	15. Secrets

A/N. Got some interesting reviews this time around. I won't change the tenor of the story, or where I want my characters to end up. That's what character growth is for. Just because characters are behaving one way in this chapter does not mean that that is their designated roles for the remainder of the story. Unfortunately too few characters nowadays actually learn and change from past mistakes, or have any development in personality at all. Well, on with the show!

* * *

Padma Patil sat down at dinner, a sly smile plastered on her normally stoic face. Mandy sat to her left, and Daphne sat across from her, with Miranda to her left. Theo and Harry were coming shortly, having gone with the Quiddich team for the first day of trials before tryouts the coming weekend.

"I found out why Weasley stole that car."

"Why?" Mandy asked, just as Miranda asked. "Why do we care?"

"How did you find out?" Daphne asked.

"My sister is in his house. He's been keeping it hush-hush, but apparently somebody said something about it and he opened his big mouth about the whole thing. And…" Padma shot a look at Miranda, "aren't you just the least bit curious about why Weasley would fly a muggle thing to school, or try to?"

Miranda shrugged as Mandy sighed. "Yeah, so spill!"

"Apparently, something sealed the barrier to the train platform before he could get on. His sister had just gone through and something flashed, he claimed, and prevented him from crossing the platform barrier."

"Yawn. That's all? He went through all of that trouble, when he could have just flooed to Hogsmeade from Diagon Alley?" Miranda rolled her eyes. "He is a bigger idiot than we all thought."

"That's not the point, Mira." Daphne interjected. "Something sealed the barrier before the train left. The Aurors don't do that unless there's an emergency."

"Now that makes even less sense. If the Aurors are the only ones who can seal the platform, how could it happen without one of them noticing a Hogwarts student still stuck on the other side?" Mandy looked confused.

"Maybe they didn't seal the platform. Maybe somebody else did, who didn't want ANY of the Weasleys making it to Hogwarts."

"Or maybe whoever sealed the platform did it to create a diversion."

The group of second-year students looked at the blonde first year who had already proven to be rather quirky.

"Why do you say that, Luna?" Daphne asked.

"IF I were going to try to do something particularly dangerous, closing the entrance to the Platform would be a way to distract people."

The upper year students all turned to the petite blonde, who smiled softly at all of them.

"But nothing happened on the train." Mandy pointed out.

"I didn't say it was about the train." Luna stated cryptically.

Daphne frowned. "So you're saying that somebody closed the barrier to Platform 9 and 3/4 not because they wanted the barrier closed, but because they were trying to distract people? That doesn't make sense."

Luna shook her head. "That's not what I'm saying either. I'm saying that closing the barrier might be a symptom and not the problem."

Miranda's eyes went wide. "That's a very Slytherin move. Close the barrier, so that everybody's talking about how it closed, even though the Aurors are the only ones taught the spell that closes it, meanwhile something major could be happening right under our noses!"

Padma sighed. "Yeah, but nobody was affected by it but Ron Weasley, who instead of just reporting the fact that the portal had closed before he could go through, decided to FLY to HOGWARTS instead."

Miranda paused. "Did they check him for spells?"

Silence followed the question. Eventually Padma shrugged. "Apparently not. I would have heard about it from my sister. Besides, even the type of spell you're talking about can be masked if a wizard with enough power and skill casts it."

This caused the table to be silent again. Eventually Daphne connected a few loose dots and pondered out loud. "So Weasley could have been cursed to not report the sealed barrier, but wouldn't they have to know him pretty well to know his family had a flying car?"

Mandy rolled her eyes. "Remember what Lovegood just said? Symptom, not the problem. What if it was just a happy coincidence that Ron decided to take the flying car? Besides, it seems kind of negligent anyway that Mrs. Weasley was on the other side of that barrier without making sure all her little ducklings had crossed."

Padma stabbed her salad and looked thoughtful. "What my sources tell me is that this was a multi-step process, that involved Weasley having to go back home to get the car first. Even if it was right at the station, saying that his father drove it to King's Cross…"

Daphne interjected. "Which I doubt because part of the problem is that Arthur Wealsey wasn't even supposed to HAVE the car at home. It's evidence in an investigation his department had worked on."

The implications of exactly why that was such a big deal sank in pretty quickly. If Arthur Weasley had brought the car home without logging it out of the Ministry there would be consequences. The fact that he had also likely experimented on the car himself, and then left it in such a position that a 12 year old boy could take it any time was grounds for the Ministry to take disciplinary action against him.

"Frankly, I'm surprised Weasley, Ron that is, isn't in even more trouble. He was spotted flying the car. By Muggles." Daphne finished.

"He would have been, but the Headmaster intervened." Lisa Turpin joined the conversation. The group of second-year girls turned to her. She rarely ever spoke to them, and they had very little in common. "What? My uncle was on the squad that had to _Obliviate _the twenty muggles that saw the flying car. The head investigator wanted a hearing and disciplinary actions for both Ron and his parents. Heck, they wanted Child and Family Welfare to come in and find out why Ron missed the train to begin with."

Mandy sighed. "It just doesn't make any sense! Ok, so the platform was sealed, but only Ron Wealsey was affected. Nobody reported having any problems getting OFF Platform 9 and ¾ when the train left, and plenty of people take the Knight Bus instead of flooing, so there would have been massive reports of a problem since there were a lot of people on the platform when the Express pulled out."

Miranda thought for a second. "But that would mean that the spell didn't keep other people from crossing the barrier, just Weasley. Not withstanding why his mother didn't see that Ron didn't get on the train and subsequently go back out to King's Cross to see where he son was, why would somebody target Weasley like that?"

Mandy shrugged. "We are all assuming that Mrs. Weasley noticed the absence of her son. Maybe since the youngest girl had gone through she assumed her son had just gotten on the train. Or maybe she was cursed to not notice the absence of her son."

"That's harder to believe. There's got to be a better explanation." Daphne frowned.

They all looked at the petite blonde first year, who simply shrugged. "Nargles."

The discussion continued, but nobody felt that any of the suggestions about the strange events were any good. Shortly afterward, however, Harry and Theo came up to the table along with the rest of the Quiddich team and the hopefuls.

"Hey Harry! How were the first trials?" Daphne asked, after moving over to make room for her friend.

"Pretty good. The captain decided that since there was a lot of interest he would open things up so that everybody has to try out for the team all over again. Call backs are tomorrow." Harry scooped some potatoes onto his plate, and a heaping portion of the roasted chicken, as well as peas.

Theo shrugged. "Harry here looked good, but I don't expect to be called back. Harry's got the golden ticket."

Daphne frowned. "What's that?"

Harry smiled. "Apparently I'm the only Ravenclaw with a Nimbus 2001."

Daphne's jaw dropped and Theo nodded his confirmation. "Most of the people out had maybe the Nimbus Silver Flyer, or a Cleansweep, but Harry has about the best broom on the market."

Daphne smiled. "Wicked! Well I hope you make the team."

Harry nodded. "I do too. Competition was fierce."

"You'll make the team." Theo stated simply, and turned to his own meal. Harry did the same, and neither noticed the calculating look coming towards them from the very end of the Gryffindor table.

* * *

Harry was exhausted. True to form, he had made the first string Quiddich team for Ravenclaw. He was the Seeker, a position he had played on many pickup games, and one he felt he excelled at. Apparently Roger Davies and Heath Barrington felt the same way. Heath was a Seventh Year who was 'grooming' the team that would hopefully defeat Slytherin. Harry didn't mind. He enjoyed Quiddich and looked forward to playing.

Harry flopped down next to Theo, scrubbed clean from practice and began to scoop food onto his plate. Conversation swirled around him, but he was mainly concerned with getting food into his mouth.

"Hey, Harry, are you ready for Friday?" Theo broke through his single-minded-focus on eating.

"Friday?" Harry paused and looked up. "What's going on Friday?"

Theo huffed. "The first meeting of the Dueling Club."

Harry shook his head. "I don't know how you get ready for that. It's not like they're going to let us duel the first time out."

Theo disagreed. "I think that they will. Professor Snape is just one of those people…"

Harry shrugged. "Sure."

"You sound unsure, Harry." Theo pouted.

"I just don't think that we would be involved in that. I think if anything the Seventh years would be picked to demonstrate, if anybody does. They know more spells than we do." Harry pointed out.

Theo nodded. "Point taken."

Just then a screech echoed from the hallway just outside of the Great Hall.

"What was that?" Harry pondered as everybody rushed out to go see what it was. The Ravenclaws got there first, as they were closest to the doors.

Outside of the doors, on one of the main walls, was a gristly scene. A pool of water sat, and next to it sat Filth's cat, frozen in place. On the walls above it was painted in what had to be bright red paint.

_The Chamber of Secrets Has Opened! Enemies of the Heir Beware!_

Daphne shook in her boots. "That's paint, right guys?"

Theo looked pale. "Yeah, Daphne. That's paint. I hope."

McGonagall came out just then and saw the students gathered around, when she looked up at the wall all the color drained from her face.

"Everybody back to your common rooms! NOW!" She ordered, and students scrambled to comply.

* * *

The Ravenclaw common room was filled with the sound of students discussing what they had seen after dinner. Baskets of pastries sat about, delivered by house elves who took pity on the students for missing out on dessert. Harry bit into a chocolate chip biscuit and settled into a couch, flanked by Daphne, Theo and Miranda. Mandy sat a bit away, talking to Padma.

"What's the Chamber of Secrets? Heir of who?" Daphne asked after a moment.

Harry shrugged but Miranda offered the answer. "According to Mother's copy of _The True History of Hogwarts: What Every Slytherin Should Know _Slytherin disagreed with allowing mudbloods being taught magic at Hogwarts. He wasn't as evil as people make him out to be, but he did believe that Hogwarts should be an elite training school for purebloods. The arguments were fierce, and so while they were building Hogwarts Slytherin built a chamber that only he could access. There he planned on training pureblood witches and wizards separate from the curriculum they were developing for everybody else. The book says that it is not confirmed, but when Slytherin broke off from the other founders after a major argument, he put safeguards in the chamber, and notified his son what they were. The safeguards were to protect Hogwarts in case mudbloods ever broke the secrecy of where Hogwarts were, or if Muggles discovered the location and tried to invade the castle."

Harry pondered this. "But why would the chamber be open now? There are no known Heirs of Slytherin going to Hogwarts."

Daphne shook her head. "That we know about."

Theo supplied. "The Dark Lord claimed to be an Heir of Slytherin. It is how he got most of his early followers."

Harry remembered the book his Governess had let him read. "The Dark Lord was a Parselmouth. Slytherin was too, if I'm not mistaken."

Miranda nodded. "Mother said the same thing. Maybe that was the safety on his chamber. Slytherin probably set it up so that only a Parselmouth could open the chamber."

Daphne nodded. "That makes sense. Parseltongue is a heredity trait, just like full Metamorphism."

Theo frowned. "But the Dark Lord never had any children. Slytherin's line died out ages ago. That is why it was a surprise when the Dark Lord came forward knowing the tongue and claiming to be the last surviving heir of Slytherin."

"But assuming that the Dark Lord was not the last surviving heir of Slytherin, could another one be at Hogwarts now?" Harry asked.

Daphne spoke up. "But if so, then why open it now? What's going on now that's so different from all these other years when mudbloods have been coming to school?"

Miranda's eyes opened wide. "We're dying out. The purebloods are dying out. There are less of us now at Hogwarts than ever. Even with the recent baby boom of purebloods who aren't blood traitors, so many of the old families only have one or two heirs. Our class was an exception. There are more mudbloods at the school than purebloods, and you couldn't even say that fifty years ago."

The little corner of the common room was silent.

"The Platform." Daphne said suddenly.

"Huh?" Harry furrowed his eyebrow in confusion.

Miranda followed the train of thought. "Earlier this week we found out that the reason Weasley flew that car to Hogwarts was because, apparently, the platform entrance at 9 and ¾ was sealed. Luna Lovegood said that it might be somebody who was trying to cover up for something else."

Harry quickly worked through the connections in his brain. "So, whoever closed the Platform entrance is also the person who opened the Chamber of Secrets?"

"No way." Daphne spoke up. "You have to have a very advanced level of magic in order to circumvent the charms on the Platform entrance. Maybe they are working together."

"It's possible." Theo surmised. "It doesn't matter. None of us would be targeted anyway."

Miranda smirked. "The 'enemies' of the Heir are mudbloods and blood traitors."

Daphne frowned. "Then why the cat?"

"Collateral damage. As long as we keep our noses clean and out of what's going on, we'll be fine. Hopefully the Heir will turn Hogwarts into a place Mother can be proud of once again." Miranda grinned evilly.

Harry shuddered. "Are you sure you're Miranda and not Titania?"

Miranda twirled her wand idly. "We are twins."

The thought creeped Harry out, and he silently vowed never to piss of the Lestrange twins. Ever.

* * *

Ginny was exhausted. She felt like the very life was draining from her limbs. She had already served countless detentions because she wouldn't wear the stupid House colors. She refused. Something deep within her core, some part of her brain knew that she was not meant to be a Gryffindor.

"Stupid Hat." Ginny slumped down onto her bed. She shut the curtains and enjoyed the blanketing darkness that ensued.

It was only 7pm, but all she wanted to do was to sleep. She had already almost passed out in Charms and in Herbology. The annoying chatter of her fellow first years the only thing keeping her from falling asleep.

"Filthy blood-traitors, the lot of them." She mumbled, pulling her diary out from under her pillow, and her newest find, a self-inking quill from out of the bag she had placed on the end of her bed.

_Dear Diary, _

_The filthy mudbloods I am forced to share a room with have finally gotten the hint, and have stopped trying to talk to me. To my great pleasure, something called the Chamber of Secrets was opened. Rumor has it that it's the Heir of Slytherin who did it, and that Slytherin hated mudbloods. Well, that's not what they call the wretched muggle filth that crawls around Hogwarts here in my precious Gryffinpuke tower, but the idea is the same. It may be an interesting year after all. My brother, Ron, is obsessed with the Chamber and insists that Harry Potter is the Heir. Thankfully Neville, who is friends with Harry, told him that it was a stupid idea, and that the Heir of Slytherin was probably a Slytherin. My brother is a complete idiot, and will probably do something foolish. Hopefully he does it in a way so that we can all laugh at him. I've been so exhausted lately, but maybe that's just the thing to get my energy back. I wish I had my own Potions kit full of ingredients. I have been so tired, but maybe a Pepper Up potion would help. _

Ginny looked at the entry, and it vanished just as the others had done. It really was the perfect diary. She could write down everything she wanted to, but without risking that somebody else would come along and read it. She closed the book and stuffed it back under her pillow for safekeeping, and rolled over, asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

* * *

Severus Snape sat, mulling over a small tumbler of firewhiskey and glaring into the fireplace. Since the Unspeakables had not been able to find and capture the dark object before it got into Hogwarts it was his task to find the object and alert Grim. He had been observant as ever, but had not seen any outward signs of a dark object since the day he observed Ginny Weasley with what seemed to be a dampened aura. The girl continued to act strangely for a first year, but there was no evidence that it was not her personality asserting itself after years of being suppressed at the hands of Molly Weasley. While Molly had come in twice to conference about her youngest daughter's antics, such as refusing to wear a uniform with the Gryffindor colors, it was hardly evidence that something was deeply wrong with the girl.

However, this new problem of the Chamber of Secrets complicated things. All Dumbledore told the staff was that it was 'very dangerous' and that teachers should be on the lookout for strange behavior. With the exception of Weasley wearing all black and being a little sleepy in classes, she was performing at an average level and not causing any disturbances.

Snape drained the glass and moved to his personal study. It was really a cubby of sorts, built into the stone with books that had been gathered from many years. Most of them were his, some of them were gifts and donations left behind by previous Heads of Slytherin House. It was to one of these books he turned now, fresh out of other ideas. It was _The True History of Hogwarts: What Every Slytherin Should Know. _

Snape had gotten this exact book around his third year, gifted by the older Lucius Malfoy. The copy Lucius had given him was back at his home during the summers, locked away with other precious, if not questionable materials he had acquired over the years. It had proven invaluable in escaping the tortures of Black and Potter. Secret passages he never would have thought possible wound their way through the dungeons of Hogwarts. According to what he remembered, there were ways out of the castle from multiple areas, but most of them had been closed off as Headmasters maintained an interest in preventing students from sneaking out of the castle.

'Since I can't seem to track this 'dark object', I might as well find out more about the Chamber of Secrets. I can't trust the Headmaster to tell us." Snape frowned slightly, opening the book and flipping to the chapter "Secrets of Slytherin".

* * *

It was late, later than it should be, as Harry made his solo ascent back to the Ravenclaw common room. Roger Davies had been running plays with Harry and the Chasers after everybody else had gone inside. The Chasers were fourth years, and had run off to quickly change before Astronomy, and Roger had a Prefects meeting, so Harry found himself alone as he made his way through the Main Hallway to the stairs leading up to his wonderful common room, a hot shower and a good night's sleep.

"Feed me! Feed me! I am so hungry!"

Harry turned around; sure he was hearing somebody talk to him. When he didn't see anyone he continued on his journey.

"Feed me! So hungry…"

"Feed me!"

Harry walked as quickly as he could without breaking out into a full run, ending up at his common room. He quickly answered the riddle and entered the almost deserted common room. Daphne was sitting in a corner with Miranda, having a whispered conversation. Both looked up and saw Harry.

"You ok, Harry?" Daphne frowned.

"Yeah. Fine." Harry stated, and worked his way to his room, where he decided to ignore the fact that the walls were whispering to him.

* * *

A/N I know that a lot of fanon states differently, but I am going with the theory that 9 and ¾ is only used for travel to and from Hogwarts, and that there are other platforms for trips to other magical places. Also, going with that theory, only magical people/beings can cross the platform, but that for security the platform is sealed in an emergency or in case of a threat.


	16. Whispers

In honor of Deathly Hollows I attempted to push out a chapter to honor opening weekend. I failed. I went to the 12:01 showing Thursday Night/Friday Morning and it was pretty epic. People were handing out glow sticks, they wore matching DA tees, and it was the first movie I'd ever been to where people went silent as soon as the opening credits began to roll. The opening scenes, btw, were… haunting.

I don't own Harry Potter, only the characters I created. I have been.. inspired.. and realized a few things about my story that I didn't particularly like. My muse left me, and only recently decided to return for the second half of the writing of this shorter than average chapter. But here it is. Please Review and all that goodness. Oh, and I've decided on some of my pairings. *wink wink.

* * *

Harry sat in the transfigured Great Hall, watching on the raised platform as two witches demonstrated dueling technique to the masses. The speed at which the Slytherin and Gryffindor cursed one another amazed Harry and many others. What also amazed Harry was how quickly the girls were able to think of spells, block and dodge spells and remain poised. Neither of the girls seemed to even have one hair out of place. He wasn't as surprised about Victoria Burke, the Slytherin Seventh Year as he was about Anna Rolle, the Seventh Year Gryffindor. She was decidedly a mudblood, and proud of it, yet she wasn't easily defeated by Burke. Harry had a feeling that Victoria was avoiding the more questionable spells in her repertoire, but he could not help but be amazed that Rolle had not been reduced to tears yet. Next to Harry, Blaise looked impressed and disappointed all at the same time, and Theo looked downright dour.

"I told you they weren't going to let us duel. They've probably had these planned out for a week." Harry whispered to Theo. "A week at least. The two of them aren't even breaking a sweat."

Theo frowned. "But it's not fair! I thought we would get to practice a proper duel!"

"Why would we get called up if we haven't been coached on the basics yet?" Harry repeated his question from a few days ago.

Theo pouted. "I thought we would at least get to demonstrate basics, throw a few hexes or something."

Harry shook his head. "Not everybody knows as many hexes in Second Year as you and Titania."

Theo smirked. "Draco, Blaise, Daphne, Mira, Mandy and you. Just because the Gryffindorks and Hufflepoufs would be at a disadvantage does not mean it would be a waste of time."

Harry almost laughed. "You're crazy."

"Point, Slytherin." Lockhart announced cheerfully. Burke smirked and handed Rolle back her wand.

Snape continued. "And next we will do another quick demonstration before an application exercise." He paused to think. "Miss Black and… " Professor Snape got a decidedly dark gleam in his eyes that most people in the room missed. "Mr. Fred Weasley."

Harry spotted his sister, and she was his sister despite how he and she came to be brother and sister, walking up to the podium. Harry looked over at where the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were sitting and saw a taller version of Ronald Weasley get up and walk over to the other end of the podium. They each bowed once, and climbed the stairs to take their starting stances. There they bowed again and waited for instructions.

From next to Blaise he heard Draco snort very inelegantly. Blaise turned to Draco and asked. "What's got you all excited?"

Draco whispered back. "This is going to be exciting. Professor Snape picked these two on purpose."

Pansy, from her perch next to Draco sniffed. "Well of COURSE he did! If he did not want to use these two he would have picked two others! Oomph!" Pansy turned and glared at Titania, who looked busy inspecting her nails. Draco nevertheless shot her a grateful look and turned back to Blaise and Harry.

"What I meant is that Professor Snape has something special in mind."

"And now these two will demonstrate a basic shield charm. More advanced duelist can cast this silently, and the most advanced duelist can double-cast, which is casting in a chain that does not weaken any of the spells in the chain."

"Yes Yes Yes! Special attention must be paid, as I noted in _A Duel with Destiny, _you have to have a shield charm to survive a duel!"

Giggles filled the room, and Blaise rolled his eyes dramatically. "Oh yes, makes SOO much sense! You have to have a shield charm in order to survive a duel!"

That caused the whole lot of them to burst into giggles again.

"Now. The first thing that Miss Black and Mr. Weasley will do is to cast a shield charm. The incantation is _Protego. _There are stronger shield charms available, and certainly each one has its pros and cons." Professor Snape intoned. "Begin"

"PROTEGO!" They both shouted, and the air around them shimmered.

"The key to a duel is that you either maintain a decent shield, or be able to outcast your opponent based on speed alone. Master Duelists can do both. Master Duelist, however, have little need for shield charms as the speed at which they can cast, their repertoire, and the speed at which they can move their bodies all culminate in generally outclassing opponents." Professor Snape stated simply.

"Now. Duel" Snape instructed, and Dru slipped down, her hair smartly tied back into a long French braid. The Weasley boy did the same thing, and they slipped into dueling stances.

"_Expellaramus!" _

"_Engorgio!" _

Harry wanted to laugh. The Weasley boy had predictably started off with a disarming spell, while Dru had gone for his foot with an engorgement spell. It wasn't dark, but it would distract a dueler if they had to deal with a swelling foot.

The battle intensified as Weasley shot a stinging hex at Dru's hand, and Dru shot out a whip spell. Weasley countered it with a water spell and shot out a boil hex. Dru dodged it and shot out the first thing that came to mind.

"_Serpensortia_"

The long king cobra shot out from Dru wand and slithered it's way toward the Weasley. He looked stricken for a moment and shot a stinging hex towards Dru, followed by the disarming spell. Dru was so busy gloating about the snake that she missed both and ended up wandless. She glowered, but soon the hall was filled with screams as the snake slid off the platform and towards the Ravenclaws.

::Tasty Tasty! I smell Tasty!::

::Stop!:: Harry shouted, and the snake paused it's progress towards Daphne and Miranda, who had hopped onto their chairs. The snake whipped around and started towards Harry when Snape banished it. Dru was quickly coming towards him when she suddenly stopped. Weasley was still holding her wand. His eyebrow wiggled suggestively but stood up straight and bowed towards her. She bowed to him, lower, her eyes and cheeks burning.

Meanwhile the entire hall was filled with whispering about Harry's outburst. The Slytherins and Ravenclaws were all speculating, while the Gryffindors glared and the Hufflepuffs looked ready to flee at any moment. Dru decended from the platform and gave Harry a pointed look and sighed.

"Point. Gryffindor." Lockhart chirped. He seemed to have been oblivious to the peril that Dru's summoning had caused.

Professor Snape wore an unreadable expression.

"A sheet will be posted in your common rooms for next week as well as the rest of the term. Dismissed."

The hall emptied quickly, and Harry found a hand on his elbow and found Dru holding on to him. "Come with me." Neither noticed the pair of honey colored eyes following them out of the room, before making a similarly swift retreat.

They walked to an empty classroom and Dru whirled on Harry.

"What were you thinking? Professor Snape would have banished the snake before anything would have happened, and now the whole school knows your secret!"

Harry huffed. "There's nothing wrong with being a Parselmouth, Aunt Cassi said so."

Dru frowned. "There's nothing wrong with it, for sure, but there is still danger in it. It is an advantage you could have used against enemies and now everybody knows you can do it!"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "How bad could it get?"

Dru shook her head. "Bad. Write Father, he can stop most of the damage if we act quickly."

Harry nodded once, wanting to argue but knowing that Dru would not have pulled him into an empty classroom without it being 'worth it'.

"Cheer up! You didn't just lose a duel to a Gryffindor because of gloating. I'll never hear the end of it!" Dru flipped that braid back around her shoulder.

Harry spared his sister a small smile. "You'll survive. Talk to you later?"

Dru nodded. "Go write that letter NOW." She then exited the room.

Harry shrugged, and made his way back to his dorm to pull out a proper piece of parchment to send off a letter to Uncle Orion.

* * *

Two weeks later and Harry was still dealing with glares and whispers about being the "Heir of Slytherin". He was no such person, but the commoners could not be bothered to remember much of anything resembling facts. The story had grown from him simply speaking in Parseltongue to commanding a legion of snakes to attack the Gryffindors. Most of the student body either glared at him or avoided him, whispering about the 'next Dark Lord." A couple of times Harry thought about trying to speak just to scare them, but he realized that it was more an automatic response than something he consciously thought about.

He had been reading up on his gift, and found out that true Parselmouths could cast spells, read, write and speak in Parseltongue. Harry was left wondering if he just had to develop his talent, or whether or not he was actually a natural Parselmouth.

Harry had managed to find a secluded part of the Library, and was revising for Transfiguration with Daphne, Blaise, Theo and Miranda.

"Don't be upset, Harry. They'll get over it eventually." Daphne frowned.

Harry shook his head. "I know that, but I can't believe how this happened in the first place."

Blaise shrugged. "I don't understand why you care."

"Its my image, Blaise. It's my family's image. There's liability involved in what happened. Something strange is going on at this school and I don't want to be blamed for it!" Harry whispered furiously.

"You're not talking about that petrifaction, are you?" Daphne queried. Another student, some girl names Emily Armstrong, was petrified along with Peeves the Poltergeist. Nobody was complaining about Peeves being out of commission, but Emily was the Hufflepuff Gobstones captain and pretty much stayed to herself aside from that.

Harry nodded once. "Whatever is happening people will blame it on me, which will make my job much harder later on."

Miranda shook her head. "You're in the right position with the right families. Think about how much harder it is for Mother."

"Aunt Bella is a Lestrange and a Black. As old as the Potter line is, damage was done when my father married what people believed at the time to be a muggleborn witch. I have to restore the Potter line. Restore our honor among purebloods." Harry finished with conviction.

"You're over-reacting. Nobody's expecting you to be perfect." Daphne smiled.

"But Dru said…" Harry began.

Miranda huffed. "Drusilla is an exception. She's a perfectionist, first off. And secondly she's under a LOT of pressure. You know what kind of stress she's under, being the first girl with the name Black in a generation."

Harry nodded his understanding. Tristan, Miranda and Titania were under similar scrutiny for being Lestranges, and the twins and Ori would have similar problems.

"She's projecting onto you. And besides, the masses are quite ignorant, if they truly believe that only a descendant of Slytherin could ever be a Parselmouth. It's tantamount to assuming that Dumblefuck is the only person who can have a phoenix as a familiar." Miranda twisted out a smile.

Harry sighed. "I suppose you're right."

Miranda smirked. "Of COURSE I am. Now tell me again the properties of cross substance Transfiguration?"

"Remember when we changed beetles into buttons?" Harry began.

"Of course. Pretty complicated"

"Right. But basically the same size. Now we're starting to get into the section where separate parts are actually supposed to form separate things, and not just turning a round object into another round object or anything like that. So…"

Harry continued to explain the theory he had picked up from reading his father's notes. According to his father, being naturally pre-disposed to Transfiguration was helpful, but it was all about being able to visualize the changes, as well as proper wand movements and incantations. Harry was quite aware that the next practical would involve turning a mouse into a goblet. According to his father's notes, it wasn't just about the actual transfiguration after awhile, but how much a person could elaborate the actual object.

"Get it?" Harry finished up a simplified explanation he had taken from his father's notes.

Miranda nodded. "I wish Mother was as talented at Transfiguration as she is at Dueling and Potions."

"I am sure that Madam Lestrange is very adept at Transfiguration." Theo countered.

Miranda tossed a dark lock over her shoulder. "The ability to do a thing and explain it to others is quite separate. I can brew almost any potion I see the directions to, but I could not possibly teach others what I know how to do. Mother is the same way about Transfiguration. She does lots of things around the Manor all the time, but she can't explain how she knows what to do."

"It's just good breeding, that's what." Titania stepped out of the shadows, flanked by Sally Anne and Tracey. Tracey was a surprise, but Titania had clearly established herself over Pansy and Tracey knew to keep herself in Titania's good graces rather than be bothered with Pansy's constant whining. "I've come to gather Daph and Mira" she continued.

Daphne and Miranda looked at each other and Miranda raised an eyebrow. "Us?"

She turned to her twin and the two had a near silent conversation of raised eyebrows and huffs. After a few seconds Miranda turned back to her friends. "I suppose we'd better go. Come on Daph. We can grab Mandy on our way out. She's with Padma working on their Herbology project."

After the girls had left Blaise breathed a sigh. "Why do I feel like the girls are plotting?"

Harry ran an absentminded hand through his hair. "Because Titania was involved?"

Theo nodded in agreement. "Definitely."

* * *

The mood around Hogwarts was decidedly dark. Even Harry couldn't find joy in what was to be his first Quiddich match of the season. Two more students had been petrified, and there was talk about closing down school. This time it was Colin Creevey, who annoyed him but probably did not deserve to be petrified, and an older Ravenclaw girl, Yuri Hinata. Students walked around looking depressed, for the most part.

The Dueling Club continued to meet, with Mira and Titania as standouts. This deflected some of the vitriol away from him, as students were reminded just why the last name Lestrange was infamous. The twins glared daggers at people most of the time, but stuck to Hogwarts approved spells during the ten minutes or so at the end of the period when the Second years were paired up. Only Harry could match them, and he felt that maybe he did have a natural talent at Dueling. Professor Flitwick, his Head of House, certainly seemed to think so.

But even the joy of being able to do something well was not enough with the darkness brought on by the Heir of Slytherin. Because of the increased threat free time was restricted and so it was hard to find time to hang out with his friends in other houses. Harry was particularly worried about how Neville was getting along, since they weren't partners in anything this term, and he knew how poorly the other Gryffindor boys treated Neville.

"Malfoy will know who it is, the slimy git." Harry heard a voice and ducked behind a pillar on his way from Potions and on his way to Ravenclaw Tower.

"Yeah, but how will we find out, Ron? He's always flanked by those body guards of his."

"I don't know, Dean! I thought you were supposed to be the smart one?" Harry now placed the voice as Ron Weasley. Great.

"I am, but every since Longbottom has been getting tutored he's been beating me out in Charms and Transfiguration. "

Harry heard a snort. "Bloody Potter. He's nothing but a slimy snake in Ravenclaw robes. He's raising an army to become the next Dark Lord. Next thing you know he'll have Hufflepuffs as friends!"

The other boy, who Harry surmised as Dean Thomas, gasped. "Well he does know those two girls our year, Heather and Sarah or something."

"See! All the more reason to find out from Malfoy what Potter is planning. Potter is obviously the next Dark Lord, and he's the one petrifying all the muggleborns." Weasley ranted.

Thomas seemed doubtful. "How do we get Malfoy to talk? It's not like we can just walk up to him and demand answers."

"I don't see why you lot are all fired up about this anyway." A new voice Harry recognized as Seamus Finnegan declared. "How do you know it wasn't Snape who did it? He's certainly evil enough."

Harry shook his head as the voices faded away. "Fools." He thought.

Fools they might be, but Gryffindors sneaking around trying to get into Slytherin deserved a warm welcome. With this slightly demented thought Harry rushed off to find Draco and Titania.

* * *

She sat in the darkest recesses of the Library, completely absorbed in a book on ancient blood rituals.

The fool had never seen it coming, her mind cackled. She was nowhere near to the girl she had once been, but that was neither here nor there.

"Mistress." A dark figure loomed over her. She looked up into the slightly vacant eyes of her most recent victim.

"You dare interrupt my study session?" She whispered back.

"Forgive me, Mistress. A delivery." The tall figure dropped a package onto her table and she eyed it with glee. The weak-minded fool had actually gotten it! She smiled a dark and twisted grin.

"Your service will be rewarded, Rosier." She whispered. "Dismissed."

Rosier left her side, presumably to go continue studying for his O.W.L.s. She cared not. He was one of the few people she could completely trust in this castle who was often alone enough as not to arouse suspicion. How she longed for access to the Lestranges! She knew they were much more gifted in resources than the son and daughter of Evan Rosier, but beggars could not be choosers.

Yet.

She opened the package and her smile grew brighter, yet somehow darker. It was different, but it would suffice. She pulled the ancient tome she had been reading closer to her, and opened the newest addition to her collection. She looked, and read, and realized she was one step closer to her goal.

* * *

Luna Lovegood looked up, as she felt a sharp chill cut across her back. She looked towards the back of the library, which seemed to be absorbing light, concealing itself in shadows.

A second chill, and she knew now that it was not the coming winter that had her blood running cold.

It was the coming darkness.

* * *

This chapter was a necessary evil. Although I did have a rather grand inspiration that I hope will really make this story my own, rather than what I had felt it was lately: a shadow of a cliche. Armed to the teeth with how the story will progress, at least for now, I will try to get this second year updated and out of the way for the next three (Up until after OoTP).

After that, there are multiple avenues for me to explore, but Fate has sealed the story for me up until that point.

Happy Reading


	17. The Setup

Merry Christmas! Happy Christmas! Happy Yule and Happy Solstice! A gift for you all and i might have another one by the end of the year. I hope to finish up this whole year in the next chapter, because I am rather eager to get to where I am going, but I don't want to rush the story in favor of getting to some of the plot points I have already figured out. Be prepared is all I can say.

Thank you all who reviewed for the encouragement and criticism. I might get back to thanking you all individually, and I hope you continue to enjoy reading the story. I have plans for two shorter stories when this one is finished, but I might post one or two chapters... Anyway, please read and review, if only to let me know that I am an utter idiot. Review Review Review!

* * *

"Do you think they'll really close Hogwarts?" Daphne whispered at dinner sometime in November. The Heir of Slytherin claimed two more victims to petrification: Lavender Brown and Eloise Richardson of Gryffindor.

"I don't know, Daph." Harry frowned. Whispers still followed him around, and it was frustrating. Members of his own house had let up after Ravenclaw's recent Quiddich victory over Slytherin, but others still whispered against him.

"I don't think they'll close it. After all, it's just a bunch of blood traitors and mudbloods." Theo smirked, feeling superior.

Neville, however, looked uncomfortable. Harry had finally been able to get Neville back into the loop, and was happy for the boy's presence despite the inclinations of his housemates.

"They're saying that it's possible. None of the Gryffindors feel particularly safe wandering around the halls these days." Neville stated. "It's been more of us than any other house."

Daphne paused. "Do you think they're being targeted in particular?"

Neville shrugged. "If so, it's very odd. Most of the victims have been girls, and girls who don't really bother anybody. Eloise Richardson is just a firstie, as well as Creevy. Lavender I think was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Yeah, that sucks for them but does it mean they were being targeted?" Harry thought practically.

Just then Draco, flanked by Blasie, Titania and Sally Anne walked up to the table Harry and his friends were using.

"Thanks for the heads up on Weasley, cousin." Draco drawled. "I don't know how he got it, but he tried to use Polyjuice to sneak into the common room. We got him and now he and his little friend Seamus are spending quality time with Snape's cauldrons and Filth's mop."

Titania nodded. "It was magnificent. They tried to impersonate Crabbe and Goyle, who are dumb enough to allow their hair to be stolen. It shows how little they actually pay attention to us." Titania fake sniffed, and smirked.

Harry smiled broadly. "I'm glad I could help take Weasley down a peg."

Draco chuckled. "It certainly was a sight. Professor Snape was livid when he came down to the common room to find Weasley and Finnegan sitting in our common room wearing Slytherin robes. I think what sold it was that everybody acted like nothing was wrong when the potion wore off."

Titania shook her head. "No, You were brilliant, Draco, by getting Weasley distracted by talking about Quiddich."

Draco shuddered. "That was the most painful thing I have ever had to do, but two months of restrictions for Weasley and Finnigan is well worth a bit of pain. They nearly got suspended. I will be able to torment them for AGES."

Harry smirked at that, and even Neville enjoyed a chuckle at the expense of his roommates turned tormentors.

Draco and the girls passed on, while Blaise lingered, smirking as he sat down.

"So what are you guys working on?" He stated.

"Potions. Neville here doesn't have anybody competent to work with, so out of the kindness of our hearts we are helping him." Daphne drawled.

Harry shot her a mean look. "We would help Neville anyway. His housemates would likely give him bad advice just for spite."

Neville smiled. Harry Potter considered him a friend. It only cemented in his mind that what had occurred over the summer was not a fluke. Nothing had changed, and Harry, who was very selective in who he associated with, considered Neville a friend. Neville was glad that he kept with tradition and went to that first meeting, the only Gryffindor boy his year to do so.

Blaise smirked. "Well as I am the resident Potions expert, I feel it is my duty to assist."

Theo snorted, and Blaise narrowed his eyes. "You feel differently?"

Theo shrugged. "If anybody is a Potions expert, it's Boy Wonder over here. After all, his aunt is the second most highly qualified Potions Expert in England, other than Snape."

Blasie frowned. "Details, details. How far along are you, Longbottom?"

"Section 7, flame adjustments in the Fever Reduction Potion." Neville frowned.

"Has Harry explained that in order for these adjustments to yield full success, you have to have an even bottomed cauldron? Any calcification or defects affect how the flame affects the potion." Blaise smirked.

"Yes, he has. However, for our essay, since we are in the class Snape hates the most, we have to site seven other incidences where the thickness of the cauldron bottom affects the flame height used on potion, and what ingredients can counteract the affect."

Blaise whistled. "Somebody melt a cauldron?"

Neville nodded. "McMillan."

Blaise laughed. "Would be him."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "We were being quite effective until you showed up, Blaise."

Blaise chuckled. "Alright, alright. I will leave you in Harry's capable hands."

The group nodded. "Later, Blaise." Daphne waved.

Harry smiled. "So, let's focus on using your Herbology knowledge for this. What plants do you know that are particularly cold-natured?"

Neville smiled. "Iceflowers are the easiest to remember because of the name, but the leaves of Flaming Hydrangeas absorb heat in order to create the flower…"

* * *

"Obsidian."

Severus Snape inclined his head towards the back room, where Croaker sat cloaked in shadows. He strode over with confidence and felt the wards rush over him before speaking. They were in a very secure location, but Croaker enjoyed lurking in the shadows still. It was why Snape felt that Croaker was a kindred spirit.

"Croaker."

"Any news? Shining Star says that the darkness is spreading at Hogwarts. She can feel it almost like a cancer spreading across the school."

Severus paused. Shining Star was often complicated and cryptic with her remarks and predictions, but Croaker was not leader of the Unspeakables because he put his faith blindly into a partial Seer. Severus too had noticed the influx of children from families that tended towards the Dark Arts. However, Shining Star had indicated that this influx was 'balance being restored before the Great Divide'. She would not elaborate on what the Great Divide was, but only that action must be taken to ensure that the world not be destroyed. Severus interrupted that train of thought and went back to the task at hand: his report.

"Since the last report, four students have been petrified. All half-bloods or muggleborns. I have reason to believe that a first year girl has the key. She is exhibiting slight signs of possession, but she is also elusive and a Gryffindor. I have no way of knowing if her behavior is the result of close proximity to the dark magic Slytherin embodied in his Chamber of Secrets, or if she is just a homesick first year who has not made any friends."

Croaker nodded. "Perhaps it is time to include Grim in the plans. The key must be removed and the Chamber sealed. It is… unfortunate that the true nature of the Chamber cannot be studied without injury to the current inhabitants of Hogwarts."

Snape became curious. "Why this interest in Hogwarts? In the Chamber? Why are resources being utilized to this end?"

Croaker shifted. "The future of our world is tied to Hogwarts. Anything else we study will be either accented or rendered to dust based on the proper outcome of the next six years."

Snape understood at once. The Unspeakables took the Prophecy spoken over Harry Potter very seriously. "So what are my instructions?"

"Evaluate this first year as best you can. The Mandrakes will be ready soon enough, although I wonder at the logic, I understand wanting to have the freshest Mandrakes for use. As long as there are no deaths we can wait until the pieces fall into place."

"And if she is lost?"

Croaker sighed. "There is magic at work that not even our department has a full understanding. It would take us years to fully comprehend what magic this key has enacted. Foretelling the future is an inexact art, and without knowing the nature of what exactly the dark object was designed to do we cannot proactively act against it. If we had the object it might be different, but the damage may still be done. It is even hard to say that what has been unleashed can be bound again without strong magics to control it. If this is an enchantment designed by Slytherin, it might take a true heir to control it. "

Croaker continued. "What we theorize now, is that there was a true heir when the Chamber was first opened, and that this heir used an object that is now in a student's possession. It grants the holder access to the chamber, but only the heir can control what is loosed. "

Snape looked uncomfortable. "So there is a real danger that even if we can get the object under control that the school will still be unsafe for those of impure descent."

Croaker nodded. "Although the fact that the Chamber has been opened for so long and out of the many muggleborns only four are injured is encouraging,"

Snape nodded. "I will keep in contact, and if Grim is necessary in order to safely resolve the Chamber I will inform you."

Croaker nodded once. "We will remain in touch."

* * *

November bled into December, but there were no more petrifications. Practicals came and went, and soon it was time for the End of Semester Feast.

"This has been a term filled with tragedy." Dumbedore began. "However we are encouraged by the progress the mandrakes are making towards maturity. Everything will be done to ensure the safety of those who find themselves at Hogwarts over the break, and to ensure that no other students are injured upon return after the New Year. There is much to look forward to in the upcoming term, and rest assured that this matter will be behind us. And now, the Feast!"

The Feast appeared, and it was magnificent. Roasted chicken, mashed parsnips and potatoes, buttery peas, sausages, puddings and pies of all kinds dotted the table. At the Head Table a whole roasted goose sat prominently, the Headmaster smiling as he sliced it for members of the staff. House elves floated around dressed like Santa's Elves depositing buns and confectioneries for all to enjoy. Harry ate smartly, holding out for the Treacle Tart he knew was coming.

"Have you picked out an outfit for the Ministry Yule Gala, Daphne?" Miranda smiled to her close friend.

"No. Tori and I are going to Paris to be custom fitted. I do hope that I will be wearing blue." Daphne smirked. "You?"

Miranda nodded. "Aunt Cissy is the more fashionable out of her and Mother, and so she will be taking Titania and myself out to Italy. We have not picked colors yet."

"Dru's going with you, isn't she?" Harry spoke up.

Miranda nodded. "And Dora and the twins. Aunt Cissy promises a day of relaxation."

Harry sighed. Of course the twins were going. They were of the age where he had attended his first Gala. "It's hard to imagine that the twins are of age to go to a Ministry Gala."

Miranda smirked. "Soon they'll be of age to participate in the opening dance!"

Harry shook his head. "Don't remind me. If THEY are old enough, that would mean that I'm old enough, and I'm not ready for that!"

Daphne interjected. "Is Dru of age yet?"

"Not quite. She will be in time for the next one." Harry replied.

"You sound relieved." Daphne smiled.

Harry nodded. "As well I should be. There would be no rest if I had to deal with Drusilla Black and her need to have the 'perfect' ball gown. She'd probably insist on having unicorn hair sewn into the lining!"

They all laughed and smiled. However, Harry noticed that Theo was pointedly ignoring the conversation.

"What's wrong, Theo?" Harry queried.

"Nothing of consequence. Mother is not sure if going to the Gala is a best use of our time, even though we have been invited."

Harry understood. It was the same battle every year. Theo's father barely escaped being Kissed as a Death Eater, and now remained under the careful watch of the Ministry. Harry knew from experience that the Notts were not the most social family without the constant scrutiny of the Ministry. So Harry changed the subject.

"So what are people requesting for Christmas?"

This brought out a whole new series of statements, and Harry grinned foolishly at the idea of being selected to try out the Firebolt prototype. He had a chance, as a junior stockholder thanks to his father, but it was a long shot.

Harry and his friends continued to talk and enjoy the final dinner before Yule break, and Harry looked forward to being back at home where things didn't whisper from the walls at him.

* * *

The Darkest day of the year was rapidly approaching, and Ginny Weasley found herself happy that she was able to stay at Hogwarts for the duration of the holiday break. Outwardly, however, she was the perfect mask of indifference as she read back over the section she was studying on ritual magic. Thanks to William and Victoria Rosier, she had all the components she needed to complete the first rituals that would free her from her blood traitor family.

Ginny was not quite sure where these feelings of hatred towards her family had begun, but the seeds had been there every since she was much younger and could not get the presents she wanted. Being the youngest meant that books and toys were well-worn hand-me-downs, and robes came from the second-hand store. Even her Hogwarts uniform was second hand.

She was fortunate in one turn that there had not been a wand to 'pass along' so that her wand was a new one, specially acclimated to her. However, everything else she owned had a previous owner. Even her name was not her own, or distinguished and Ancient like other pureblood girls. She longed to be named after a star like the Blacks, or a flower or a Greek Myth. Her mother's first name served as her middle name, and there was nothing wizardly about Ginerva. She was quite sure that some old relation had been named Ginerva. She hated the name, and thus nobody had yet earned the right to call her anything but Ms. Weasley.

That too, she hated. To be reminded of her traitorous and poor family at every turn was most heinous, in her mind. She resented her father for being poor, and for being so interested in muggle things he would take that job at the Ministry rather than trying to take a better one to support his family. She resented her mother, who didn't even try to work from home like the Lovegoods had, rather her mother seemed content to be dirt poor. She blamed her mother especially, thinking that her mother should never have had, or kept, ever so many children if her father was going to be a dead-beat and not get a job that could support them all.

She wished to change the whole thing, to deny her family full out and become somebody else. There was bound to be a family she would rather be a part of, and the benefits outweighed the risks, in her mind. Her primary goal was to find out if she had any ancient blood claims she could make. Thus, she was prepared to do the _Blood of My Fathers _ritual. She would follow that up with a blood reclamation potion if there was anything of worth, and on the darkest night of the year, she would attempt the _Heart of Darkness, _which should balance out her magic and prepare her to break free from her family.

Ginny figured that if anything would help separate her from the evil that was her disgustingly Light family, it would be engaging in the Dark Arts, those questionable branches of magic her mother and father most tried to steer the family against. Thus the obscure ritual would help her get in touch with all her magic. She, after all, could not just launch into Dark rituals, having never been exposed to Dark magic.

Ginny sighed, her research done for the afternoon, and thought about her abandonment of all things Weasley. Sure she would miss the twins, and Charlie. Bill had always been like another adult in the house, much too old to play with. Ron and Percy were gits and not worthy of her time. She would be alright. Eventually she might even include the twins.

So Ginny plotted and planned her liberation, and something within her stirred, settling deeper within her very core.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore would like to tell himself that he learned a lesson about meddling in the lives of others. He would like to be able to look himself in the mirror and tell himself that crazy witches giving our prophecies could no longer influence his better judgment, or that misguided beliefs about society would no longer affect his duties as Headmaster and lawmaker.

If he did that he would be lying.

It was December, and students would be leaving the next day to go to their various homes for the holidays, Harry Potter included. With destitute wizards and witches staying in the castle out of necessity, Hogwarts was being allowed to remain open despite the threat of the creature from the Chamber of Secrets. The Board of Governors, led by Lucius Malfoy, was pressuring for Hagrid's arrest, and Harry Potter barely knew the man well enough to be indignant about the 'unfairness of it all'.

When Albus Dumbledore pictured the future in November of 1981, with Harry Potter tucked away in some muggle home, far from the prying eyes of the purebloods who would have given their wand arm to raise the Boy Who Lived, he envisioned himself making the wise choice, a better choice than the ones he had made as Deputy Headmaster under Armando Dippet. As Deputy Headmaster, he had the power to investigate any child's home life and have them placed with a willing pureblood family. When Dippet had been Deputy, it was a common practice for orphaned wizards and witches to be adopted by pureblooded couples, or even single women who were the last of their lines. It was also common practice for the Deputy to petition and forcibly remove abused witches and wizards from those homes. Never Squibs, however. Most purebloods did not abuse their children, but Muggle parents were often abusive to children with magical talent, not understanding what it was.

As Deputy Headmaster, Dumbledore had stopped the practice, deeming it dangerous to both child and family. "Children should grow up in an environment they are familiar with." Dumbledore had labeled the practice "Dark" and led a crusade against adopting witches and wizards from Muggle orphanages. He called it a 'ploy' for 'dark families' to 'build up an army to aid Grindenwald.' He appealed to the Ministry by stating that 'Wizarding families that die out should have their assets absorbed by the Ministry coffers. This idea was quickly shot down by most of the Wizengamot.

But was his insistence that the old practice of adopting wizard orphans be abolished really in the best interest of future generations? Aberforth Dumbledore would disagree strongly. He would insist that life would have been much better overall if Arianna had been offered up to a special care home rather than suffer the fate she encountered at the hands of her own brother and his friend. Merope Gaunt would have been better off adopted than living with her family, a situation Dumbledore refused to investigate even with evidence that she was a strong enough witch without her father's interference. She was far from a genius but a Hogwarts education would have done wonders.

How many others had he failed because he was too caught up in his own words to see their effect on others? His mind refused to link to the ones who begged, pleaded for assistance, for freedom from horrible living conditions, family lines that died out because he didn't want those traditional pureblood families to have more power over him than they already had.

Severus Snape came to mind faster than the other did. Skinny, abused and nearly murdered at Hogwarts, the signs were there for rapid intervention. He could have intervened early, when a battered Eileen Prince Snape showed up at St. Mungos missing several teeth and with a broken wand hand. She had been five weeks pregnant and had nearly lost the baby. Abraxas Malfoy, Arturus Black and Hadrian Prince had petitioned the Wizengamot for a dissolving of the marriage between her and Tobias Snape while Eileen was in a magical coma. Dumbledore had denied it, stating that with the arrival of a son and heir her life would improve.

She lost a second child, and later lost her life before Severus' sixth year at Hogwarts.

But Albus Dumbledore had a short memory for his mistakes. All he could think about was the present and future, and how it was quickly falling out of what he expected the future to be because one Harry James Potter was an apathetic pureblood prince rather than a lonely halfblood looking for acceptance from his peers and praise from anybody willing to give it.

Somehow the sheer apathy bothered Albus more than outright antagonistic behavior like some of the other students were capable of. It was the sense that Harry had no use for anybody, blood be damned, that Albus could not get his head around. He had friends he cared about, to be sure, but nobody else seemed to register. How could he form Harry into a savior if the boy didn't care about the people he was saving?

'Maybe he's not the savior. Maybe it's time you fixed your own mistakes. Every time you interfere things just get worse.' A thought that sounded like his old friend betrayed him.

'You ought to leave well enough alone' Aberforth shouted in his mind.

Albus sighed. The Chamber of Secrets was his current concern. How it got open was one matter, and how it was going to be sealed was another. The thing was, he had no clue where the Chamber was, or how it was opened and closed. He could not rely on the events playing out as they did last time. But all of the documents Slytherin had left behind for future Headmasters came written in Parseltongue.

Parseltongue… that was it!

The Unspeakables could help him. Certainly there was a linguist among them. He would have to contact his old friend Croaker…

* * *

Minerva McGonagall could not get into the holiday spirit. Try as she might, knowing one of her Gryffindors was miserable weighed heavily on her heart.

She looked at Ginny Weasley, seated at the far end of the Gryffindor table, despite the fact that there were not but thirty students left in the castle, and she was the only first year who had stayed back. Most of the other students who stayed were N.E.W.T. or O.W.L. students who wished to put in extra work without the distraction of holiday parties. The ones who remained sat in friendly clusters, but Ginny sat alone, still clad in black. She looked the picture of abandonment if not for the blank expression she wore, betraying no emotion.

Ginny was there, presumably to 'work', but Ginny already had straight Os in every subject. She was on pace to getting perfect scores in every subject. If she was not such a model student on the surface McGonagall might have continued her letter writing campaign against Ginny's refusal to acknowledge her place in Gryffindor House. As it were, Professor McGonagall's only punishment was to deny Ginny the right to take the advanced syllabus, since the Head of House's signature was required to complete the transfer.

Ginny Weasley seemed to be on a mission to lose as many points as possible, and did it in the most devious of ways. She would sabotage the potions of her housemates, inform Argus of when her brother Ron was out of bounds (she never ratted out the twins, strangely enough), and over all try to get her housemates in as much trouble as possible.

As much as Minerva wished it were different, she could not deny the fact that Ginny did not want to be a Gryffindor. She questioned the young lady about why she was so resistant to the house of red and gold, and got a short answer that caused her to really think about Ginny and her family.

"I am not a Gryffindor. I was placed there because my hair is red and my last name is Weasley. Not for who I am. I am tired of my bloody last name controlling my destiny. I want to be re-sorted."

And Minerva had tried, she really had. Every meeting she had with the Headmaster she brought up the girl's unhappiness and desire to change houses. The Headmaster insisted that "little Miss Weasley" was just homesick and would adjust to life as a Gryffindor.

But now it was December, and she was positive that Ginny had yet to speak to another Gryffindor she had not been forced to talk to. It was no longer a matter of 'fitting in'. The other girls refused to acknowledge Ginny just as she refused to acknowledge them. A five-foot barrier existed at the end of the Gryffindor table, reserved for Ginny to eat in silence. Even if she opened up, who would accept her amongst the Gryffindors? Who among her lions would take in the girl who purposely lost the house points?

And so while many in the castle plotted, Minerva McGonagall plotted as well. She knew the danger of a melancholy student left alone for far too long. The evidence of such abandonment sat to her left, clad in black with the faded memory on his left arm a testament for how she had failed him as a student. She would not make the same mistake twice.

"Severus."

"Minerva?" Severus looked up from his sparse breakfast of black coffee and toast with marmalade.

"Albus refuses to see reason. Something terrible is going to happen to Miss Weasley if we do not intervene." She stated simply, getting directly to the point. She inclined her head to where Ginny sat in solace and his dark gaze followed.

Snape merely raised an eyebrow. "She is a loner. Children have the freedom to interact with whomever they choose."

Minerva shook her head. "She is an eleven-year-old girl, nearly twelve. It isn't normal."

"What are you suggesting, Minerva? That we force students to interact with one another? Certainly amongst that enormous family she has she gets something appropriate for interaction. Her entire family is Gryffindor, and yet you seem to be under the impression that she is not fit for your house."

"She told me herself that she was not a Gryffindor and that she wanted to be re-sorted. I suppose this is her way of protesting her sorting." Minerva stated.

"I can do nothing, especially regarding defying a mandate from the Headmaster." Severus reasoned. The underlying reason for why went unsaid.

"You cannot, but the Board of Governors can."

"You are not suggesting…"

"I am simply suggesting that it could be mentioned to the Board that a student has petitioned to be re-sorted and has been refused. The fact that it is a pureblood girl who was sorted Gryffindor might go very well with your… associate." Minerva hoped that the tactic would push the right buttons.

Severus looked at Minerva and raised an eyebrow. "How very…"

"Don't say it. The way she's going she'll never survive Gryffindor, much less Hogwarts at large. The solitude will burn her out before her fourth year."

Severus nodded once, memories of his own lonely days in Slytherin rising to the surface. He pushed them back down and focused on the job, his job.

"I will see what can be done."


	18. Interlude

Happy New Year! The next chapter isn't quite ready yet, but I do have something special for you. Flashes of scenes relevant to the story, but maybe not the exact timing where we last left our heroes. Next chapter will hopefully be up and shining before the semester begins to kick my *** again.

This chapter is here so that when things happen later in the story they will make sense. Basically, this chapter is all about framing, so that my dear characters have actual motivations. I am not JKR, I only own my OCs and I appreciate all my reviewers, critics and those who add the story to their favorite list or alert list. Beware, in writing this chapter and the next I realized I made a couple of unintentional mistakes. They do not affect the plot, merely character development, and so I will be going back to fix those mistakes. Again, you can go back and spot the changes if you want to, but it is primarily my own OCD about having this story be what I want it to be that has me making these changes. Thank you for taking the time to read! French translation is on the bottom, and I apologize if it is not how things would be said by native French speakers, I know the words but not how a typical French person would phrase something in French.

* * *

Ginny Weasley was eight when she first set eyes on Harry Potter. The older boy had been walking along Diagon Alley with his family. It had only been a glimpse, but it had stuck with her and instilled a Cinderella complex in the young girl: wishing for her wealthy knight in shining armor to come and rescue her from her wretchedly poor existence.

Ginny had been a fairly happy child whose only suffering came from being the youngest of seven children in a relatively poor family. The Weasley money had all but vanished by the time Grindenwald had been defeated, lost in part because her great-grandfather had invested in loads of muggle companies, all of which failed during the Great Depression. The Weasley family was far from ancient, but they were purebloods with a fairly old, but mostly empty vault. Maybe in another generation or so the family would have enough spare wealth to begin filling it up again, but for now only a few dusty old books and somebody's old school trunk sat in the Weasley family vault at 809 in Gringotts.

So the Weasley family lived paycheck to paycheck. Arthur Weasley, being the moral character he was, did not accept the bribes to close down the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office to work in more 'gainful employment'. He, like his family before him, had an obsession with all things Muggle, and working in an office that protected muggles from magicked items was something he could never give up.

But that meant being shunned by the rest of the Ministry. No promotions, no 'extra' vacation time, no bonuses. Even when Fudge took over and the easily influenced man increased budgets to the smaller sections of the Ministry, the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts got no extra assistance, in favor of the Foundation for the Preservation of Wizarding History. It also meant that Arthur Weasley was living on a pittance of a salary and still paying off debts his own grandfather had incurred. With seven children, it was difficult in the best of times.

Thus Ginny lived with castoff toys and second-hand clothes. When she was very small she didn't notice too much, but as the years went on she noticed exactly how horrid her clothes were compared to even the muggleborns that frequented Diagon Alley. She knew that there had to be other poor families around, but her family felt like it was the poorest.

Seeing Harry Potter later, with a younger black-haired boy, two girls who were maybe a year younger than her and an older blonde girl the same age as the twins put into sharp focus how woefully inadequate she was. They all wore shimmering summer robes in dazzling colors, and the carefree smiles of people who could easily afford anything they wanted to buy in Diagon Alley. Knowing that the one set of _his _robes probably cost more than her entire wardrobe sent Ginny into a fit of rage, but one directed at her parents for being so stubbornly poor. Ginny was observant for a child. She knew her father had the skill to be in any department in the Ministry, if he wanted to. She had met some of the people who worked at 'better' jobs than her father on occasions when Arthur had to take Ginny with him, or when they had run into a Ministry official in Diagon Alley. Some of them, her young mind had reasoned, looked like they needed assistance figuring out how to put their shoes on.

She also knew her mother could take on a part-time job knitting, or at least bother learning the more complicated sewing and gardening charms to become a proper housewife and make the family's clothing from home. They grew a lot of their food at home, but for some bloody reason they had to toil in the garden each summer rather than doing the work magically. Ginny knew that certain plants could not be treated magically, but carrots, apples, potatoes and onions were not so delicate.

So Ginny pined away at the Boy-Who-Lived, hoping to be rescued by the hero of he bedtime stories. She would catch glimpses of him every now and again, always smiling politely from the _Daily Prophet's _society section. She would secret the pages away from her family and read about the life the Boy-Who-Lived enjoyed. Lavish parties, the traditional 'coming out' party every pureblood of means enjoyed before attending Hogwarts, and his attendance at the parties of close family members and friends. Harry Potter at the opening of St. Sophia's Magical Accidents Ward, in the Sates. Harry Potter on vacation in Southern France. Harry Potter at the grand opening of Quiddich Supplies International, in New York. _Her _Harry was everywhere, and she kindly forgot that the Black family was raising him, and that Cassiopeia Fitzgerald Black's desire to keep the remaining family close meant she had befriended Narcissa Malfoy, and that with Narcissa came Bellatrix Lestrange. Ginny ignored that whole article, where the press had a field day when the whole Black family, cousins and all, had appeared together at the opening of some art exhibit or another.

The article in question questioned Lady Black's intentions, and she kindly reminded the press that she was Harry's guardian, as appointed by rite via James and Lily Potter, and that she always kept Harry's well-being in mind.

Eventually, as she got older, the resentment she had for her family grew until it threatened to choke the life out of her. Why couldn't THEY go to society events? How come THEY were never invited to garden parties or museum openings or formal balls at Greengrass Manor? She sulked and hid much the same way Percy did, and she was fairly certain Percy hid for the same reasons she did: embarrassment. She knew for an absolute fact that Percy had taken the secret lessons at Hogwarts, and the twins had done the same. Percy and the twins would be prepared to take the rites when they turned of age. All three of them knew that there was more to life than the Burrow, and that Molly Weasley would not be in charge of them for long.

The summer before she went to Hogwarts everything had changed. Ron went from boasting about how he would be Harry Potter's best friend to cursing his birth and existence. After spending the entire year alone with her parents, looking forward to her big brother following through on his promise to bring Harry home for the summer holiday the knowledge that not only had he failed, but he had failed miserably broke her. The promise of a summer with _her _Harry Potter was the only thing that kept her going, the only thing that kept her from retreating further into her shell as she read the _Daily Prophet _for information regarding how _her _Boy-Who-Lived was going on in school. She sulked as much as her mother allowed, never speaking more than two words at a time to anybody, but tried to behave so that she would get the new wand that was promised her.

When she saw the old journal along with her used books at home, after the day in Diagon Alley, she thought that maybe her family had stepped up to recognize that she deserved to be rewarded for not being a holy terror like the twins, or and utter idiotic prat like Ron, or a stuck up wanker like Percy. Every slight, every injustice she poured into that journal, and the more she wrote, the more she felt angry, and the more injustices her brain came up with. She could literally spend hours pouring anger and hatred into that journal, and spent a considerable amount of time doing just that before school started. What made it better for Ginny was that she never had to worry about anybody finding the journal and reading what she wrote. The words always disappeared, and she often felt drained after writing, and so it was a good release for her nervous and angry energy.

Ginny Weasley lost exactly when her brothers and parents became 'those filthy blood traitors I have to live with' and muggleborns became 'filthy mudbloods'. She forgot when she suddenly knew more spells than she remembered learning or reading about, but the transition had occurred long before she boarded the Hogwarts Express.

* * *

"Madamoiselle Granger! What have you been told about your behavior?"

Hermione Granger straightened her back properly and looked at her teacher, Madam LaVir.

"I am to act with decorum befitting a student at this institution, and showing off in front of my peers detracts from that image, Madam."

"Oui, Madamoiselle. Now, stand up and apologize for your behavior." Her teacher pointed at a spot in front of the classroom next to the teacher's desk.

Hermione slid out of the seat, smoothed out her gray uniform skirt and walked to the front of the Ancient Runes class. She looked at the classroom full of students eying her with a mix of loathing and contempt and stood up straight. "I apologize for my outburst, which has not only detracted from class time, but does not allow for other students to ask questions simply because I am monopolizing the teacher's attention."

"Bien. You will remain after class. You may be seated." Hermione returned to her seat, sliding in as had been drilled into her head for weeks now, picking up her quill and taking notes as the teacher continued her lecture on the finer details of the first basic set of Ancient Runes.

Later, the class filed out, but Hermione remained. Her hands clasped in front of her, standing by her desk as she had learned was the rule upon her first week at the school. The teacher looked up and beckoned Hermione closer to her desk. Hermione complied, and fought against the urge to lower her head in shame.

"Madamoiselle. I understand you feel the need to prove yourself, especially given your heritage. Just because you are quite adept at theory, your practical skills still could use improvement. It cannot be denied that you are often the first person to catch on to concepts in class, you must give your fellow students a chance to absorb what has been said, and the teacher a chance to rephrase difficult portions of theory if they feel it is necessary. Do you understand, Miss Granger?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Good. You will write for me fifty times 'I will not show off in class.' You will write fifty times 'Just because I understand a concept does not mean that my fellow classmates do as well.' And you will most certainly think before you ask a question in class. Being inquisitive is what learning is all about, but there is a reason why the professors maintain office hours. It is not merely for students who are falling behind or are in trouble, Mademoiselle. If your question is about clarifying a point, wait to see if the professor is going to clarify it for you before asking the question. If you are confused, chances are you are not the only one, and your professor has many more years experience teaching the subject than you have learning it. Understand, Miss Granger?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Bien. Have you picked your mandatory extra-curriculars yet?"

Hermione fought the urge to bite her lip. "Yes Madam. I have written them down. I was prepared to bring them to you later."

"You may retrieve your card now. You are behind the other students in the extra-curriculars, so the sooner I know them the sooner we can have you catching up. Oh, and Miss Granger?"

"Yes, Madam?"

"I know that this school is much different from Hogwarts, but one thing remains the same. You must stand out in the right manner. Your grades speak for themselves, and you must live in this society with your peers for the rest of your life. You are a witch, there is nobody trying to take that away from you. There is no need to try and prove to everybody that you're just as good a witch as any pureblood. In fact, by the end of your education I hope that the reaction will be 'oh, she's not a pureblood?' rather than 'of course she's not a pureblood'. It is harsh, but that is just the way our society works. For as long as you are alive your heritage will remain the same. You want to get to the point where nobody will think to even ask. You want the first thing people to notice is your intelligence and skill as a witch, not how much you stand out by being a contrarian who refuses to learn the basics of the society she now lives in. You are a witch, not a muggle."

Hermione nodded once. Those girls on the Hogwarts Express had said the same thing to her. Even without saying her name they could tell she was an outsider based on how she acted. Hermione walked over to her bag and retrieved the form, walking back to Madam LaVir and handing the card to her.

"Oh." Madam LaVir spoke after a moment of reading the card. "It is good that you are interested in these, Mademoiselle. However, I do suggest you take these that I have circled as well. If you end up back at Hogwarts or attempting a job at the British Ministry it will serve you well. It could even be arranged that your lessons be continued if you decide to leave."

Hermione stood ready to shake her head, that she would never leave this school, but she could not guarantee it. The school she was in was rather expensive, even for her parents, and she missed being in the UK. "Thank you, Madam. I will trust your judgment and allow you to set my schedule for the remainder of the year."

"Very well. Do you have a class now or is it free time?"

"Free time until dinner, Madam. Today is my flex day."

"Very good. See that you use your time wisely, and remember that you do still have a time limit ban from the library until the end of the week. Dismissed."

Hermione sighed and gathered her belongings into her satchel. This school was different from Hogwarts in so many ways. They did not allow her to bury herself in the library for hours at a time, they did not allow her to get away with 'just brushing' her hair, and they demanded she take extra curricular activities that had nothing to do with her core subjects. She even had a 'time limit' on how long she could stay in the library over the weekend, as well as mandatory social activities that often involved tea and idle gossip.

She quietly exited the room and went back to her dorm. There she deposited her belongings and sat on the window seat looking over the ocean.

Hermione sighed deeply again. She knew that she should be more appreciative of this school for even accepting her, some muggleborn nobody from the UK. However, she had scored high on her entrance exams, and shown promise with her wand-work. The tutor she had gotten during her convalescence had paid off, and she was actually ahead of where she would have been at the end her first year at Hogwarts, but even at this school she was still woefully behind.

Hermione did not stir when she heard ruffling behind her, indicating that her roommate, Camilla, had returned. She and Camilla were hardly on speaking terms, and it was worse because Camilla was very near the top of her year's food chain. Long blonde hair, perfect teeth, perfect skin, and perfectly pureblooded she often glared at Hermione with her jade green eyes and whispered 'filthy mudblood' whenever she could.

It was painfully obvious to Hermione that she was woefully out of place at this school. She was the only non-pureblood here, and only two things kept her from coming to physical harm: the fact that it was an all girls school, and the fact that the Headmistress vowed to publicly ruin the reputation of girl and family if they were found to be involved in an attack against another student. So instead of physical attacks, she was attacked verbally, had homework sabotaged, walked into common areas and had the entire room switch to French or German. She was studying both languages, in addition to Latin, as part of the curriculum, but most girls at the school were fluent in French. It certainly didn't help matters that most of her classmates had been in school or tutoring together since they were very young, and led a very different lifestyle than the one she had growing up.

The rustling behind her increased, and try as she might she could not ignore it. So Hermione turned around and saw her roommate with five robes thrown across the bed

"Je ne peux trouver rien porter" her roommate murmured.

Hermione wondered what was going on, when Katarina waltzed in.

"Come now, our lessons are do to start soon, and you know how Madam hates to wait."

Camilla sighed. "Oui, je sais. Il sent horrible." She shot a hearty gaze at Hermione, and Katarina shot an equal gaze of hatred towards the girl.

"I understand, _mon amie_. Such a trial you have, sharing your personal space with such filth. If Madam knew how horrid it was for you she would not make you suffer so. Such a stench! To have to come back to your room and be isolated from society with that ignorant wretch. I bet she still hasn't done her first blessing." Katarina wrinkled up her nose at Hermione. "But come, today is about planning a partie de jardin appropriée"

Camilla sighed and flopped onto her divan. "Yes, but I cannot go in this!" Camilla pointed dramatically to her clothes.

Katarina evaluated the garments. "The dark green. It will set off your eyes."

Camilla looked at the dark green robe and smiled. "Perfect! I'll use your room to get ready. I don't want _her _getting any ideas. " The pair shot glares at Hermione again, and they swept out of the room.

Hermione sighed. The Madam her roommate referred to was Madam Carmine. She was the lead etiquette professor at school, and taught the 'elite girls' lessons on how to play at being the proper pureblood woman. Lessons in fashion, hairstyle, how to manage servants and house-elves, and hosting dinner parties dominated her curriculum. Hermione was constantly reminded that not only was this an elite witches school, but it was a 'finishing school' as well. Camilla Burke and Katarina Dolchov were the only other girls there from the UK that she knew of, being isolated and pretty much ignored by the other girls. As two of the wealthiest girls there, they took private classes in etiquette, and Hermione was sure that the lessons included more than just playing hostess with Madam Carmine as instructor. Madam Carmine always looked down on Hermione, and the only thing she could gleam was that Madam Carmine had relatives in the UK with ties to the Malfoys. It stood to reason that no matter what, her heritage would be an insurmountable barrier between herself and the venerable professor.

As a less wealthy muggleborn she wasn't permitted to take the class, and her roommate gloried in rubbing that fact in her face.

She reflected on what Madam LaVir told her. She stood up and went over to her closet, which certainly did not hold robes like those her roommate tossed aside. She had three new robes, a light blue, black, and a dark purple, because the school list demanded three 'formal' robes, and that only one was allowed to be black. She knew from experience that her roommate had at least five black, three for summer, two for winter, and that she probably had twice that at home.

She knew that if she asked, she could have more robes and clothes, but never had she felt the desire to be like the other girls. The insults hurled by her classmates failed to truly impact her, as she was so used to them by now. But what if she changed? She had already gotten used to having to straighten her hair every morning, having to use multiple types of shoes, multiple place settings…

So what was a few more changes? She was far from superficial, but it couldn't be so bad if it was expected of her. Maybe this is what her parents wanted. After all, they were paying for this school. Hermione sighed and closed her closet door, having retrieved the robes she would wear to dinner and placed them on her bed. She would write her mother later and ask for the money to order another set of robes, perhaps light purple. She might even see about getting ritual robes for the next solstice.

Hermione went back to her window seat, and thought about something that before she attended Hogwarts was assured: her future.

* * *

Shining Star was old. She was ancient, almost as old as a certain meddling Headmaster who would have fainted dead away at the sight of her, a final haunting reminder of his own youth. She had been rescued at a young age, younger than most who had been taken by the Unspeakables.

Shining Star, after all, was a Seer. She was one of those rare Seers whose contact between worlds was almost constant, but it was also cloudy at best. She could predict disasters, but not their exact dates. She predicted the rise of Grindenwald as her first major prediction. The rise of Voldemort was next. She sat for hours reading the mists surrounding worlds, reaching out into worlds not known to other moral beings. She could sense darkness, disease, and death, but also light and life.

In the grand scheme, as mere mortals are wont to affix people with labels, she was neutral. She could practice both the light magics, the dark magics, blood magic, and what she grew up learning was the 'fundamental magic'. She knew that her affinity was for Air, since Seers tended towards Air or Water. It was a rare Seer who tended towards Fire, but she had known one such, a Priestess in her own culture, who read the flames of magical fires, and saw visions in them. She too was thoroughly in touch with her element, sensing the slightest changes. This affinity added to her mystique with the Unspeakables.

She could also sense magic in the most basic of forms. She could read the auras of those around her, sensing their affinities, feeling the way people restrained the magic within them rather than becoming the magic within them. She knew that magic ached from being manipulated, and that if steps were not taken Magic would hide itself from the very people that were blessed with its presence. She also knew, from the whispers spirits carried on the wind that the One was coming who could restore balance, the One who honored Magic at its very core and would do anything to restore Magic to its roots.

She also knows that her continued existence is laced with his. She knew that had certain events not occurred, she would not be able to read the mists at all, that she would most likely have been dead. She knows this for a fact, even. She has seen the state of other worlds where she was dead and the One did not honor magic, never having learned how.

Shining Star knew that each moment was crucial. At any moment they could become one of those worlds where Magic dies from abuse, or becomes twisted and corrupted into an extreme. The petty squabbles of mere mortals blinked in and out of existence, but now men were greedy, pulling too heavily on one side or the other, without balance. She had seen wizards in cages, tied to each other, shivering in the cold mud. She had seen the once great magical society turned to dust, as the old bloodlines were murdered and scattered across the Earth. She saw multiple horrors playing across multiple worlds, and as much as she wished to rescue her sisters from across the worlds she could not.

So Shining Star focused her energy on reading the mists of this world, on aiding in the little things as well as the big. She knew that the events at Hogwarts were tinged in the darkest of magic, true dark magic which dealt not with blood and bone but with the very soul and essence of a person. True dark magic took away a person's free will, was unblockable, unshakable and relentless in its pursuit of the caster's will. True dark magic is what she sensed at Hogwarts, but the intent was not fully formed, not fully realized. The mist did not cry out in pain to her, as it had done before, and so she knew that the outcome was still fluid, the magic still flexible.

Suddenly the mist parted, and she could see Magic swirling underneath, and she saw another Vision, granted to her by Magic, and another piece of the puzzle fit into place. Progress was being made towards balance, and so Shining Star smiled.

* * *

Oui = Yes

Je ne peux... = I do not have anything to wear

Oui, Je Sais... = Yes, I know. It smells horrible (or horrid)

Mon amie = my friend. **A/N** It was wrong, and I finally got around to fixing it.

partie de jardin... = proper garden party


	19. Making Plans

Hi All. Sorry for the long absence, and the long time between updates. These next few chapters are the hardest for me to write, but the end of Harry's second year will come in the next chap fater. I am not JKR, and if I was I would be lying on the beach somewhere feeling guilty for the Epilogue. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to all of my reviewers, and to those people I have spoken to about their 'concerns' about Harry, this chapter is the beginning of what Harry's 'true' path will be. I've tried to keep the cliches to a minimum in this story, partially why this chapter and some of the others were hard to write, because I could see my characters falling into underdeveloped caricatures of who they are meant to be. Enjoy!

* * *

Harry smiled a genuine smile as he picked out a cabin for his friends. Yule had been great, once again, and he had seen the prototype Firebolt, which would be out for sale in the summer. The broom was wonderful, but a good Seeker was more than just his broom. From what he could tell in his limited expertise, the Firebolt had problems with handling at top speed, making it decent for racing, but as far as the Seeker was concerned, the Nimbus line was still better for sudden maneuvers and reversals of direction. That wasn't to say he would not love to have a Firebolt once the kinks were worked out, but he preferred the reliability of his Nimbus. Then again, the Firebolt was not due out until August, which was plenty of time to fine-tune the handling. It wasn't bad, in all honesty but it was just not optimal.

Harry settled down, his trunk stowed and a Charms and Potions supplement beside him to read. Both had been gifts from his maternal grandmother, written by American experts in each field. Miranda followed behind shortly thereafter, having traveled with Draco, Titania and Tristan, all of whom he had seen briefly on the platform.

"Hey Mira, how was France?" The Lestranges and Malfoys had gone to France the day after Boxing Day, while Harry had spent the rest of the holiday in America with his other family.

Miranda shrugged as she stowed her trunk and sat gracefully into an empty seat. "It was pleasant enough. Aunt Cissy found Dora the cutest little chateau: three bedrooms, a parlor, a small library and a potions lab. There's even a small garden out back perfect for herbs and common plants."

Harry smiled. "So she's going for her Mastery instead of continuing the Auror Academy?"

Miranda shook her head. "They're just taking advantage of her abilities."

The door opened to reveal Theo. "Hello, all." Theo put up his trunk as well. "What's going on?"

"Nothing much, Mira was just updating me on some family stuff I missed while in the States."

"Oh yeah, how was that?" Theo sat down.

"Nice. Grandma wants me to go to school with my other relatives sometime. She feels I am missing a great deal of variety in my education. The States are far more liberal about what they allow to be taught." Harry explained.

Just then Daphne and Blaise entered, followed by Neville. Neville gave a sideways glance at Miranda, but stored his trunk next to Theo's and sat down.

Harry smiled and took pleasure in hanging his other friends around again. He always got to see Miranda, since they were cousins, in a matter of speaking. He didn't get to see Blaise and Theo apart from the holiday party at Malfoy Manor, and Neville had been at the Ministry Ball early on, but had vanished after that. His absent friend, Tracey, had started hanging out more with the girls in her own house, and so he rarely saw her anymore outside of class. While it was sad, it was a testament of his own worth that all of his friends and associates did not even fit into one compartment.

The ride to school passed without incident, and soon they were all settling into the dorms, the continuation of Quiddich season among other things being discussed. Nobody was talking about the Heir of Slytherin.

* * *

It had been a week since they got back, and Harry had finally managed to corner Neville without any of his friends following him.

"Hey Neville!" Harry saw the boy ahead of him in the hallway. Neville turned around and smiled.

"Hi Harry." Neville paused and waited for Harry to approach.

"What's been bothering you lately?" Harry asked, as Neville looked around as if somebody was going to pop into existence next to the pair any minute.

"Gran takes offense to how much time I spend around some of the others, like Theo and Miranda in particular. "

Harry quickly put two and two together. "Your Gran is concerned because Miranda's parents were supposed Death Eaters, as well as Theo's father, right?"

Neville nodded. "With Miranda it's not just that they were Death Eaters, but they were involved in the attack on my parents."

Harry frowned. "Bellatrix and Rodolphus. Both confirmed Death Eaters, and both at least partially involved in the attack you told me about last term. Are you worried something might happen to you?"

Neville shook his head. "No, not really. It just makes me really uncomfortable to be around the twins, ya know? Like I'm betraying my parents somehow."

Harry sighed. He thought about something his Governess had told him after a conversation the two had about his own parents. He changed it slightly, hoping it would help Neville feel better.

"Nothing you say or do can change what happened, but you control the future. Do you think Mira's a good person?"

Neville nodded. "She's nice enough and she helps me with Charms a lot."

Harry smiled. "Well there you go. Miranda is not her mother. She's even in Ravenclaw. How many Dark wizards are from Ravenclaw?"

Neville actually managed a smile. "None that I know of… although there was a Dark Wizard from Gryffindor…"

Harry laughed. "Yeah, but I think that Ron is just a prat and not actually that bad."

Neville's smile got wider. "Yeah. Even his brothers prank him. They're always good for a laugh."

Harry paused. "You mean the Weasley twins, right?"

Neville nodded. "They got him good about a week before break. Turned all his shirts pink.

Harry chuckled at the idea of Ronald Weasley having to hide his pink shirts for a whole week, and suddenly grew thoughtful.

"Well, if he starts being a bother again to either you or me we will have to see if the twins accept payment for pranking their brother." Harry smiled.

Neville nodded. "They are always brewing potions and buying prank items. They'd likely appreciate a spare Galleon or two, and I'm sure I could get a couple and double the pot."

Harry laughed. "Careful, Neville. If word gets out we might have half the school taking bets on what prank the twins will pull."

Neville smiled. "Could be interesting. Thanks for understanding about Mira and Theo. They're good friends and all, but our ideas about wizards don't measure up."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Neville nodded. "Gran says that a lot of this pureblood superiority stuff is rubbish. She says that traditions are important but the belief that purebloods are inherently better than halfbloods or muggleborns is foolish."

Harry frowned. "What does she say about families losing their special brand of magic because of intermarrying with muggles?"

Neville shrugged. "She says that families losing their magical identity like the inherent ability to do healing magic or an affinity for certain types of spells is mainly due to people marrying folks who aren't magically compatible."

Harry thought. "So because marriage is a ceremony that binds people together magically, marrying a witch who is not magically compatible is just as dangerous as marrying a muggle?"

Neville nodded. "But Gran says that nobody knows about magic compatibility anymore because between the two wars the rift between purebloods and muggleborns got huge. My Gran says that when her parents went to Hogwarts the emphasis was on assimilation. The idea was to protect muggleborns from muggles and being tainted by the non-magical world. Muggleborns took all the Low Rites, and only the High Rites were reserved for pureblood families. Muggleborns were expected to apprentice with a pureblood family to finish the assimilation process and be accepted into society. Only very old families relied on strictly pureblood marriages."

Harry thought about it. He considered himself a scholar of history, but he had never read about the practice Neville was talking about. He idly wondered why. "How come I've never heard anything about this?"

Neville shrugged. "Gran says that labeling of muggleborns was not something that happened until the first Great War. A lot of history books were rewritten, omitting the references to the practice altogether. It might have been done to leave people with the assumption that there was never such an alliance between muggleborns and purebloods."

Harry nodded. Most of the books he had read were written in the late 20th century, so it made sense. "Could you get me any of those old books? I doubt the library at my house would have any such reference."

Neville smiled. "Sure, Harry. Not even the library at Hogwarts has those old books, as the Board of Governors mandated that history texts be updated in 1950. My grandfather was on the board then… he told her all about it."

Harry smiled back. "I'll bet. I don't read nearly enough of the older books nowadays, with being so busy with Quiddich, classes and our other lessons."

Neville nodded. "Gran wanted me to know the real history of our society. She says that the Ministry has long been involved with what gets printed and published as history."

Harry remembered a quote from his pre-Hogwarts days which fit the idea. "History is written by the victors, after all."

Neville looked thoughtful. "Certainly is. Well I have to go. We're having a house meeting and I don't want to be late."

Harry nodded. "See you around! And I'll talk to the twins, let you know what they say."

Neville nodded. "Sure, just let me know."

* * *

A week later and the jovial mood of the school upon returning to Hogwarts had been lost. A third year Hufflepuff, Heather Miller, had been petrified. A rather average muggle-born, she had few friends and fewer enemies. Most people outside of Hufflepuff barely knew who she was aside from 'that mousy girl who never talks to anybody.'

Meanwhile Ron had taken to following Harry around again, much to the latter's displeasure. He came up with what he thought was a brilliant plan and decided to approach the twins, with some trepidation. He looked for an opening, and Thursday afternoon he was finally able to catch the twins without their third wheel, Lee Jordan.

"Fred and George Weasley, I presume?" Harry saw them huddled together in one of the indoor recreation areas the staff liked to set up when the weather outside was inhospitable. The twins looked up and, after exchanging glances with one another, responded.

"Harry Potter." Said the one on the left.

"A pleasure to meet you." Said the one on the right.

Harry smiled. "It is indeed. I was wondering if I might employ your services."

"Our Services?" they both looked questioningly at Harry.

"Yes. Do you accept payment for pranks?"

The twins exchanged a glance before responding.

"It depends on the prank'

"And the target"

The doublespeak was something Harry had firsthand knowledge in handling, as he lived with twins. He smiled inwardly and replied.

"Your brother, Ronald."

"What do you have against our brother, Ronniekins?" asked left twin

Harry sighed. "He has been following me around all year, and it is rather annoying."

After a moment they replied.

"Not that we don't mind a good prank every now and again,"

"But how will pranking Ron keep him from following you?"

Harry smirked. "Negative reinforcement. It has to be something crafty enough that he won't associate any of us with it, but something that will dissuade him from following me, or will at least expose his habit in an embarrassing way. I would rather not employ my cousins' method of protection by hiring bodyguards…"

"Give us a moment." The one on the left replied. What followed was what Harry identified as the Weasley's own brand of Twinspeak. After a couple of minutes they turned back to him.

"We accept."

Harry smiled broadly. "It's a pleasure doing business with you." Harry thought for a moment. "Would ten Galleons for the pair of you cover the necessary expenses?" He had spoken to Neville earlier, and the boy said he could match up to ten Galleons without having to go back to his Gran and withdraw more money from the bank, and still have enough pocket change for the remainder of the term. "I have it on good authority that Neville Longbottom might be willing to match that price if the prank is good enough. Also, if you could get Ronald to leave Neville alone in Gryffindor I'd throw in an additional five."

The twins covered their shock well. "That's a total of 25 Galleons!" the one on the right whispered.

"Imagine all the stuff we could buy with that!"

Harry smiled inwardly. The twins were infinitely better to deal with than Ronald.

"I will leave time, place and manner of delivery up to you." Harry spoke out loud. "If you need assistance…"

The left twin shook his head. "We're in his dorm. Easy access."

The right twin looked thoughtful. "Although, who would expect a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff to prank Ron?"

Harry shrugged. "I will leave you to your planning." Harry withdrew five Galleons from his robes. "A pre-payment, of sorts. Neville will give you five Galleons over the weekend, and if you need any 'supplies' we can forward you an additional advance."

The twins beamed. "Of course, Potter."

Harry shook his head. "We are allies. Call me Harry."

The twins continued to smile. "Gred." One said

"Forge"

Harry smiled wider. Of course. He instantly knew that "Gred" was George, and "Forge" was Fred. It was the easiest trick in the book, and one his younger cousins loved to employ.

"Until next time. " He departed from the twin Gryffindors, knowing that at least the next two weeks would be entertaining.

* * *

Grim examined the rune sets once more and sighed. These would certainly work to contain whatever malevolent creature was attacking Hogwarts, or so they hoped. It would only be a temporary fix, but more drastic measures could not be taken until an investigation could take place once the school could be emptied. The main priority was to keep Hogwarts open. If they could just keep the creature contained until the school year ended then all would be well. After Hogwarts could be closed for the summer a team of Unspeakables could go in and permanently eliminate the threat.

Slightly satisfied with what amounted to a whole month's work, Grim turned his attention to his other project: Emerald.

Shining Star had raised concerns about how Emerald was progressing. Both she and Croaker had gone mum on what their plans were, except that they wanted to be as hands off as possible. He reflected back on the most recent conversation they had about three weeks ago.

_Grim sat down, having been summoned from his work researching wards that could contain a creature with massive magical powers. Across from him sat Croaker, while Shining Star lingered nearby. _

'_Grim. What progress have you made into the wards?'_

_Grim sighed. 'Some. I found contacts with certain dragon tamers, and am working on a variant that they use in the holding pens for particular violent dragons, and mothers who tend to eat their hatchlings.'_

'_Good, good.' Croaker intoned. 'We must also work on Emerald. He is progressing well, and Shining Star has not had another one of _THOSE _visions as of late, but now is the most critical time in his development as a wizard.' _

_Grim nodded, in full understanding of what Croaker meant. The next three years, more than anything, would frame what kind of wizard Emerald would grow up to be. The friends and enemies he made had the potential to re-shape the very foundation of the Wizarding World. Emerald was indeed the Chosen One, except he was chosen for far more than to just defeat the Dark Lord. Although it was still a matter of debate whether or not his prior feats counted as 'defeating a Dark Lord'. The prophecy, no matter how tainted, had indeed been true. _

'_No matter. The important steps have been taken to make sure that Emerald stays free of the taint that the Bee possesses. Now we have to call due the life debt owed to Emerald from Onyx. Onyx is a valuable asset who has been wasted on those he owes service to. We will free him from the taint that covers his soul, but your job will be to guide Emerald. He must still undergo trials, but he will come out a better wizard for them.' Croaker continued. _

_Grim looked at the pair questioningly. 'I have divined that only through perfect strength and perfect unity will we be able to achieve the goal the Unspeakables have been working towards since the rise of Grindenwald: the restoration of the true wizards.' Shining Star looked towards Croaker, who nodded. _

'_To that end, Emerald must learn all forms of magic. His education has been adequate so far, but there are still dangers. He is still vulnerable to being swayed. His thirst for knowledge and his study of our history are but one aspect. There will come a time when we are no longer able to influence his future, but the future of the world hinges on what we can do to assist him until the time comes.' Croaker concluded. _

'_We are not in the business of directly meddling in the affairs of the lives of others. We are investigators, intervening when magic takes unexpected turns.' Shining Star informed Grim 'But this is too important to leave unfinished. If the goals we have set forth are to be achieved, there are conditions that must be met. There is no light, no dark, only magic. Bee has lost his way, and the one called Voldemort was lost before he was born. Emerald can become the perfect balance, and that must not be lost.'_

'_It is why we intervened in the first place.' Croaker intoned, gesturing to a vial of silver liquid containing the memory of Arturus Black. _

_Shining Star nodded. 'We find ourselves at a moment in history that will define our entire culture for the next millennia. Whether we survive, thrive or continue to languish and wallow until we become a society of Squibs, or exposed to Muggles and destroyed hinges on this generation.' _

'_Hinges on Emerald. He has the power within him to do great things… his core has more potential for magical growth than even Dumbledore, if he is trained properly…' Croaker spoke in almost a whisper. _

'_We've been involved since before the start.' Shining Star indicated. 'I started having the visions in 1970.'_

_Croaker laughed, a rare and strange sound. 'We had quite the fright until we determined that the stars were all wrong… quite literally.' _

_Suddenly the pieces fell into place for Grim. Emerald was a key. In whatever visions Shining Star had been given, he had been used, bent and moulded into something that weakened his magic, not allowing him to reach his full potential. _

Grim had received his instructions regarding Emerald, and would follow them to the letter. His term of service was almost finished, and Croaker assured him that he would want to rejoin society once his memories were restored, but…

Grim looked down at the rune sets he was working on, knowing that he had to finish soon… his eyes flashed across a tiny trunk attached to a platinum chain. It was all he knew of his old life.

If he could ever return to that life, he had to do his part to curb the growing darkness that threatened the current generation at Hogwarts… if things got as bad as Shining Star indicated her visons led, then not even remaining an Unspeakable would protect him from destruction.

So Grim turned to the next stage in his research: stones. If he could increase the power of the runes by using the right materials to carve them, they could prepare for any eventuality at Hogwarts.

* * *

Nobody paid any attention to Ginny Weasley anymore, save her brothers. Even Ron had left her to her own devices by now, but the twins and Percy continued to look out for Ginny even though she didn't know it. The twins kept most people from pranking their little sister for her lack of compliance and dedicated unwillingness to become a part of Gryffindor. Percy just looked out for her in general.

Nobody else paid any attention to Ginny, with the exception of certain Slytherins and two Ravenclaws. The school had long gotten over the scandal of a Weasley not wanting to be in Gryffindor, and moreover acting more like a blood supremacist than the generally good natured Weasleys had been in generations. Muggleborns all had tales of being hissed at by the youngest Weasley, the word _mudblood _flowing easily from her lips.

So nobody questioned when Ginny was missing from breakfast the week after the last attack. She showed up for class, but only appeared at lunch to grab a sandwich and then vanished to wherever she decided to go. Her interest in Astronomy increased exponentially during the two weeks after the attack, and nobody questioned that either. Nor did professors question how she seemed to know answers before the question was raised, or how she seemed able to predict homework and lesson plans.

And save her brothers, who were concerned, nobody noticed when she went missing for an entire weekend starting Friday afternoon following Potions.

Ginny checked herself out in the mirror, her regular cloak concealing a set of brand new robes lined with fur and trimmed with fine purple thread. They were not dress robes, but were formal enough for where she would be going and who she would be meeting with. She went to the still deserted third floor corridor, and used a secret passage to cross the anti-apparition wards around Hogwarts. She then folded her old cloak into her bag, taking out the brand new one she had gotten sent to her just the week before. There would be too many questions if she suddenly went around Hogwarts in a new traveling cloak, but out here in Hogsmeade nobody would question her. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, and she could easily be mistaken for a smaller third year student. Most people were still at lunch, but students would be along soon to enjoy the crisp but clear sunny weather that was slightly warm for the season.

Ginny carefully adjusted herself, and made sure that her paperwork was still with her, and took out the portkey from her belongings. She tapped it once with her wand, and found herself in the middle of Diagon Alley. She lifted the hood over her face and proceeded to Gringotts, her first destination of the afternoon.

"Good Afternoon, Miss. How might we help you?"

Ginny raised herself up to her fullest height, and spoke to the goblin in front of her.

"I am here to verify the results of a heritage potion, and to claim my inheritance."

The goblin eyed her carefully before calling to another goblin.

"Griphook here will take you to the chamber. We will verify your identity, and assist you in other matters, if that is what is required."

"Thank You." Ginny smiled. She followed the goblin to a small room with a stand in the middle. She recognized it from the diagram in her book. This would let her officially claim any inheritance to which she was entitled by blood. Her own test confirmed some things she had known, but only a test at Gringotts, the Ministry or conducted by the Ministry would count. A small loophole allowed for a Gringotts approved test to be accepted, but coming to Gringotts was easier to manage than attempting to have the test done at Hogwarts.

After careful consideration, and a thorough study of the family trees in question, Ginny decided that she would push for inheritance from one branch of the Father's family, rather than pursuing her Mother's side of the family. She was distantly related to the Blacks through both sides of the family, but this course of action ensured that she would be one of a few heirs, and since she doubted any of her brothers would go this far, she felt safe.

Soon she would not have any of that to worry about. If everything went well, and so far they had worked out, the person known as Ginny Weasley would be dead by the end of the term.

Ginny Weasley emerged from the doors of Gringotts with a smile on her face and a glamour firmly in place. She quickly went to conduct two other errands. She needed books from Flourish and Blotts, ingredients from the Apothecary and a couple of goods from a couple of shops in Knockturn Alley before she had to be back in Hogsmeade. She would sneak back out again in the morning to complete a second ritual. Next Hogsmeade weekend would complete the rituals and would cement her new heritage at Gringotts.

After that she would have to return every two months to complete the process. Because she was reaching so far back into her family she needed to purge most of her Weasley and Prewitt blood. It was an odd ritual, but an ancient one.

According to her research, back in the days during the worst of persecutions, the late 1500s and early 1600s, certain purebloods sought a way to increase the size of their families while protecting themselves from the increasing attacks by muggles. Witches and wizards discovered in muggle families were taken by purebloods and systematically purged of muggle influence. Halfboods were purged in much the same way. The practice stopped in the late 1600s when the fledgling Wizengamot ratified the Statute of Secrecy.

The way the ritual went, a muggleborn was slowly infused with the blood from their 'donor' family until the blood took over. Thus, they could become 'blood inherited' and continue the family line. The theory behind it was shaky at best, since people, muggle or magical, all bleed the same blood for the most part. However, some part of the blood, the part that separates wizard from muggle, can be detected. Ginny didn't know how the method was developed, and she didn't care. Even an hour after the first ritual had been done she began to see the difference. Her face had thinned out slightly, her freckles were fading and her hair was a little bit lighter.

According to her research, she would likely be a blonde when all was said and done. Her target family was full of blondes. She did idly wonder, however, what color her eyes would be. She rather fancied blue eyes, or green, anything but muddy brown.

Ginny passed by a newsstand with the latest copy of _Young Sorceress, _a fashion and lifestyle magazine that catered towards wealthy witches. They only advertised the most expensive clothes, only interviewed stars, there were no recipes and very much resembled a muggle _Vogue _magazine. On the cover was Anna, a gorgeous half-Veela stage actress who also modeled clothes.

Anybody who saw Ginny at that moment would have been frightened at the intense look on her face.

0909090909090000==-==-=-=-=-====-

Ronald Weasley had entered Hogwarts with a very distinct sense of what his life should be like. His brothers all had things that they had excelled at, and he was no different. Bill was quite honestly a genius. He was a curse-breaker with Gringotts and was one of five Gryffindors to manage an Outstanding with Honors distinction in Potions from Snape. He had a Mastery in Ancient Runes and had apprenticed with spell crafters and ward builders in seven countries. Charlie was the rebel, the dragon trainer who worked closely with dangerous magical creatures all the time. Percy was just perfect. He was that perfect son that could talk himself in and out of any situation, the natural leader. Fred and George were the pranksters. In the few years they had been at Hogwarts they had become legends. Ron was actually quite good at strategy. He was unbeaten in Gryffindor as far as chess was concerned, and had beaten the few Ravenclaws he had managed to get to play him. His ability to strategize and foresee opponent's moves was only limited by his laziness in other regards. He actually managed decent grades most of the time, but because he was so busy trying to do 'better' than his brothers he lost track of what made him unique.

That was the problem. He had so many brothers to live up to. He saw how Fred and George seemed to not care about classes or grades, and always seemed to be having fun. He saw how Charlie was a free sprit with his earring living out on the compound in Romania. He saw Bill, travelling out to exotic locations to read and repair wards. So as soon as he realized that he would be going to Hogwarts with Harry Potter, he made it his goal to befriend the boy-who-lived and eclipse his entire family. Instead of studying or seeing where his talent in chess could help him in other areas, he spent most of his free time plotting on how to get Harry Potter to be his best friend.

It didn't matter what his mum said about Harry being raised by 'dark wizards'. Harry's parents were in Gryffindor and so Harry would be in Gryffindor, and then Ron could systematically separate him from the evil influences of his family. They would be best friends and nobody would be able to separate them.

Except that's not what happened. While Harry was not sorted into Slytherin like Molly Wealsey surmised, he was sorted into Ravenclaw and seemed more interested in reading and studying than exploring the castle. It frustrated him to no end. Especially since Neville Squib Longbottom seemed to be on good terms with the boy who should be HIS best mate.

And so Ron came up with a plan: Expose Harry Potter as the Heir of Slytherin, and when the school abandoned him, he would sweep in and befriend the boy who was being ostracized by the rest of the school, lending a sympathetic ear while 'working' with him to 'find' the real Heir, who was probably a slimy Slytherin Death Eater wannabe anyway.

With that plan in mind, Ron worked tirelessly to build up evidence against Harry. Ron smiled at the can of paint he managed to smuggle in over the holidays. If he could just get something that was clearly Potter's, he could frame him and finally set his plan in motion.

There was no way this would fail. Ron had it planned down to a perfect science.

9080809809808080708098 080980

Next Up! Grim, Pranks, A Chamber and more!

Until next time. I promise it won't be too long between this chapter and the next... I'm eager to get to Harry' 3rd year, I just don't want to do this part of the story an injustice by rushing through it. It might take a while between updates as I am preparing to study for the Maryland Bar Exam, but updates will come.

~*~7M


	20. In Motion

WOW, this is a long chapter! But I felt that most of it was too important to leave off or break into two chapters. It is subject to editing still, so if something doesn't fit or is spelled wrong let me know, because I've been looking at this chapter for so long that it's a real possibility that I've missed something. I will be going through the entirety of this story and tweaking for continuity. I hope you enjoy, and please Read, Review, Comment and I should have another chapter coming up. Just a warning, there are some 'squicky' topics in here and mild hints, more like insinuations, of child abuse.

* * *

Harry was walking back from the library when he heard it: a voice whispering from the wall on the sixth floor.

"Hungry… So hungry… why can't I eat?"

Harry had been ignoring the voices in the walls for most of the year, thinking he was imagining things or that if somebody was really trapped in the wall a teacher would find them. However something about the desperate pleading caught his attention this time.

None of his friends were around, not even his cousin Draco to interrupt him. He didn't have anywhere to be, and curfew was not for hours. They were being strict about curfew with the creature still petrifying people, but he had already discovered a way to sneak into Ravenclaw Tower after curfew via a tunnel that led to a door which opened up to one of the study rooms within the Tower. Enough people used it to sneak back from the library after staying gone too long that nobody questioned entries. Especially since the door leading to the tower was still password protected.

So Harry cast a quick _Tempus _and decided to investigate on his own. He wasn't sure where the impulse came from, and when questioned later he would claim that his father's Gryffindor heritage clouded his judgment.

Harry first scanned the immediate area, and seeing nobody started studying the walls. Nothing in particular stood out to Harry until he was almost to the end of his current corridor, near a dead end. There was a door, which led to a hallway, which went mostly unused by students. Here could be found guest quarters and old classrooms, which had been used at some point in Hogwarts' history for apprentices who were training with staff members.

In this mostly abandoned part of the castle Harry found a portrait of Sir Charles the Third of Elven Wood. He had been a key donator to the construction of Hogwarts, and withdrew his financial support of the school when Slytherin was ousted. Harry knew that Sir Charles had three other portraits in the castle at his own request, a favor for the man who contributed a great deal of money to the wards at Hogwarts, as well as some the first generation of house elves. One, Harry knew was in the Library among portraits of influential people in Hogwarts' past. The second he could only imagine was in or near the Slytherin common room.

He knew that the portrait that covered Professor Snape's office door was an influential Slytherin from the early 1700s who fought to keep the house intact, as the contemporary headmaster wanted to disband it and Gryffindor, since both of those families had died off by then, at least in name. He could only guess as to the location of the final portrait, as he had not been in the Headmaster's office enough times to know if any other portraits existed other than those of previous Headmasters, nor could he say that the final portrait was not in one of the staff quarters.

The unusual thing about Sir Charles' portrait being where Harry found it was two fold: it was the only portrait of a person and not scenery on this corridor, and portraits of importance were often moved if a hallway fell into disuse. Older students had told the first years last year that several portraits that had been on the forbidden third floor corridor found their way to more populated areas of the castle.

So naturally Harry went closer to the portrait, looking for damage that might explain why it was in such a remote area of the castle where not even couples came for time together because it was so inconvenient, and there were no open rooms anyway. What he saw was shocking. The frame was covered in snakes. Tiny little snakes that wiggled around the gilded portrait. Closer inspection revealed at least three pairs of serpentine eyes in Sir Charles' portrait, not counting the elegant green and black behemoth draped across his body.

Harry examined the snakes, and one of them winked at him. Harry was rather used to snakes in portraits winking at him. Living among so many Slytherins tended to ensure that there were many snakes about.

::The little nestling is staring at us. How can the little nestling see us?::

::Should I not be able to see you?:: Harry replied. He had a feeling he had slipped into Parseltongue again, so he made sure to keep one eye out for observers.

:: The nestling speaks! The Speaker of our fathers entrusted us to guard his secret. He told us to only permit entry to a speaker. Something has entered our sacred depths and threatens to destroy what we protect. You are a Speaker. You must fix this!::

Harry sighed. It must have been a snake he heard in the walls then. Perhaps it was trapped and needed to be set free. He hated the idea that some poor snake was trapped in the castle with nothing to eat.

::Ok. How do I fix what happened?::

::Here is the entryway behind our portrait. Only a true Speaker can even see Sir Charles' familiars. Only then if they have opened their eyes to see what others do not. Enter. Our master leaves instructions within::

Suddenly the portrait swung open and Harry climbed into the small room. As soon as he entered two torches flared on the opposite wall and the portrait closed behind him. He looked, and it was as if he was looking through a glass window. He could see out into the hallway, but he knew that nobody could see into this room.

"It might be the frame surrounded by snakes. Some type of advanced spell." Harry pondered to himself. He then turned back around and began looking around the small room. There was a small wooden table and chair off to one side, and above it a bookshelf that was carved into the stone. On the bookshelf sat five books that looked to be the oldest books Harry had ever seen, and he had several books from the 1700s covering obscure branches of magic.

On the desk sat a piece of parchment that had several layers of preservation charms on it. The writing looked like strange squiggles until he blinked and it looked like something resembling English. It was old-style English, but thankfully the letter was brief.

Speaker,

Thou hast found my Chamber. Protect this, our castle, from they that seek to destroy her spirit and devour her soul. Speak ye these words:

Protections of the Past Obey! I speak to thee as the voice of thy true master! Heed my voice!

If what lies within obeys you not, speak ye these words:

Ye hast forgotten the voice of your master, and thus the agent of your master sends you away from this place. Go from here, banished from your home.

Harry blinked and once again the words appeared in the strange crawly language he finally recognized as Parseltongue. He thought about the words he had just read, looking around the small room. This could not possibly be the famed Chamber of Secrets?

Harry frowned as he noticed a small stone looking out of place on the floor. He tried to pick it up to place it on the desk. It lifted and clicked, but remained firmly affixed to the floor. Harry gave up only to gasp when he looked back up.

Where a solid wall had been before now stood an archway over a dark staircase. The archway itself was impressive. Hewn not from stone like the castle walls, the archway appeared to be made of onyx or obsidian carved with thousands of tiny runes. Around the edges were more snakes, but these did not move. The keystone was inlaid with silver around the edges, and contained a stylized version of the Slytherin house patch. Harry assumed it was the crest of Slytherin himself, since it was more ornate than any of the Hogwarts house crests.

Not thinking more about it, Harry descended the stairs beyond the archway. He went down what seemed like miles, and as he progressed torches lit the way forward and extinguished themselves behind him.

Much later Harry found himself in a large room. The staircase remained, but the room itself was round and dank. Two passageways led off across from the stairs he had just descended, and books literally filled the room. There was a much larger, more ornate wooden desk underneath an ornate candelabrum that reminded Harry of one in the Great Hall. Deciding to look a bit further, Harry walked towards the left passageway, finding an antique Potions lab on the other side. Shelves were cut into the stone like the room above him, and they were filled with dusty vials. Books lined these walls as well, although there were not as many. Cauldrons of every size filled one wall completely.

Harry could spot at least five gold cauldrons, a few silver cauldrons and what looked to be several cauldrons made of stone. There were, of course, regular cauldrons as well. There were also a couple that looked to be large and made out of tortoise shell. The setup of the lab was ancient, which it would have to be if it was as old as Harry assumed. There were four pits for fire in the center of the room, each surrounded by runes. The ceiling was also covered in runes, from what Harry could tell.

From what he had studied about the first indoor Potions labs, Runemasters developed cleansing runes to handle the smoke from indoor fires, which made it possible for Potions brewers to brew indoors without worrying about smoke inhalation. Smaller houses and huts were primarily used before this, since they could simply cut a hole into the roof to allow smoke to escape, but Lords and Ladies who wished to live in luxury but maintain Potions needed an alternative to the 'common hovel'. Harry felt he was walking into living history. Harry assumed that the room he was in was under the grounds, rather than the castle proper, since there were also vent holes cut into the ceiling to allow smoke from the fire to escape.

Harry spotted something in the corner looking like a rough-hewn sink and walked over to it. There was a stylized spout with a rune set engraved above it. Instinctively Harry touched his wand to the rune set and hissed ::water::. He was rewarded when water began spilling into the sink and disappearing. ::off:: he tried, and the flow of water ceased.

"Wicked" Harry walked back to the other room and took the right passage. He stepped into a large round room with a statue of Slytherin in it, poised with its mouth open. Harry could hear whispering from within Slytherin's mouth. He stepped into the mouth, and then suddenly remembered what the instructions had been.

::Protections of the Past Obey! I speak to thee as the voice thy true master! Heed my voice!::

Harry backed up as the sound of a large _thing _came towards him. He stood in the larger chamber and waited. A large snake appeared, larger than any snake Harry had ever seen. It's eyes were covered in a paper-thin white sheet of scales, but the rest of the body gleamed prettily in the candlelight.

::You do not smell like the one who woke me from my slumber, but you speak with the authority of my first master.::

::I was called to this room. The way revealed itself to me.:: Harry informed the snake. Then he thought about it. ::Are you the one who has been attacking the students and whispering in the walls?::

The snake turned its head towards Harry. ::I am indeed. The hatchling who woke me from my slumber does not allow me to eat. I am hungry. Perhaps you can find me a tasty meal?::

Harry thought about it. ::Where do you normally hunt? I have no access to a large enough animal to feed you properly::

::My previous master let me loose in the woods. But that way has been blocked for a number of seasons::

Harry thought about it. He did not know where he could send a snake this big without it being noticeable, or without people freaking out.

::I will find a place for you to hunt freely. This building is full of those who fear you and wish for your destruction. You have been here a long time, and yet the one who woke you up threatens your very existence. Everybody upstairs is on the lookout for a creature, and even if you have nothing to do with the attacks they will destroy you anyway.::

The snake seemed to be angered by this revelation. ::The one who woke me smells like a small female, but has the voice of my old master. He is of my first Master's bloodline. I could smell it on him. I can smell some of it on you, as well. He, however, sends me after his enemies, while you offer me peace in my old age.::

Harry thought quickly. A snake like this could be a wealth of information, but he had a feeling he needed to be heading back upstairs soon.

::Allow me to be your new Master. Obey this 'other' no longer, and I will ensure that you go to a place where you can hunt freely. As long as I can gain from your years of knowledge and rely on your power if I need to.::

The great snake closed its eyes completely. ::Hatchling, it is done. I will not heed the call of the other, if you do this for me. However, if you deceive me, your bones will line my nest and your family will keep my stomach full.::

Harry nodded. ::Understood. I will do what I can, and will inform you of my progress::

The snake turned, exiting the tunnel fully, revealing an extraordinarily long snake that practically filled the room. The snake was green and black like the one in St Charles' portrait, and had the same milky eyes covered in paper-thin scales. Harry thought this might be a defense mechanism. It went back through the mouth of Salazar Slytherin and the statue closed its mouth. Harry then turned and walked back to the first room, climbing up the stairs and out of the small room, watching as the portrait closed behind him.

::Seal:: He whispered, just in case, and the snakes in the portrait vanished.

"Tempus." A time check revealed that it was four hours later, and he was in time to catch a late dinner at the Great Hall. Harry went down the stairs to do precisely that.

* * *

Ron Weasley was pissed. He had tried cornering Neville several times about Potter's dealings, but every time he was thwarted. He would blame his brothers on the pranks played on him, but every time he was pranked his brothers had solid alibis like Quiddich practice and class. So far, his hair had been turned green, his book sack split revealing not books, but frilly lace underwear with the Slytherin logo, his face covered in nasty pustules that oozed noxious liquids, and the appearance of spiders that nobody else could see or would acknowledge. He tried following Potter, but the same results would occur. He now had detention for the rest of the term and had lost Gryffindor so many points that even if the team won the Quiddich cup they were still too woefully behind for it to matter.

Seamus and Dean ignored him now, pairing together in most classes. They even ignored him in Potions, and none of the Hufflepuffs would pair with him either. They all glared at him and Snape rejoiced in taking points from him before making him work alone. His grades were horrible this term, without Dean to cheat off of. His masterful plan had failed.

It was ok, Ron reasoned to himself. He had all summer to plan Potter's demise, and it would be spectacular. The boy should have been HIS best friend and Potter would pay for ruining that for him.

Ron took out the Eternal Itching Powder he had lifted from his brothers. He couldn't get to Potter, but he could make Neville miserable for being unprankable since the beginning of the term.

He had enhanced the powder, and he would get Neville back for being so un-Gryffindor that he actually associated with Ravenclaws and Slytherins. He would be begging for forgiveness by the end of the week, and then Ron would be king of the second years again. If he was lucky maybe he could get Dean and Seamus back for ignoring him, as well.

The next morning Ron woke up, having the best sleep of his life. He felt as if he had been asleep for weeks. He stretched and looked around the room to see how his roommates were doing. Three empty and well-made beds were his answer. Ron jumped up and ran into the bathroom. It was completely empty, which only raised Ron's panic even more. He rushed through his routine and rushed over to his closet to throw on the first things he could find.

Only to find his closet completely empty except for a very frilly dark blue dress covered in lace, ribbons, and other adornments that reminded Ron of the dresses Ginny used to have to wear. He scrambled back into the loo, only to find his nightclothes had vanished as well. A draft reminded Ron he had not yet found underwear, and his stomach reminded him that breakfast was slowly slipping away. Ron went back to his dorm room and began looking at the other closets enviously. He went for Seamus' closet first, as he was the closest in size to Ron. Empty. Stripped just as bare as Ron's had been. He went over to where Seamus kept his trunk and received a nasty shock as soon as he touched it. Dean's closet received the same results. Desperate now, Ron tried Longbottom's closet and was woefully disappointed as it was stripped bare except for a spare pair of herbology gloves that were moving as if there was something in them.

Ron began to panic in earnest now, sure that whatever could be in Neville's herbology gloves could not be anything he wanted to stick around and see. He then remembered that he lived in a dormitory full of boys. Maybe one of the firsties or third-year students had clothes that fit him.

Ten minutes later and Ron felt like his had had been attacked by a swarm of bees. The firstie dorms were locked up tight, and the third-years had enough anti-tampering hexes on their belongings that he wasn't sure if they weren't expecting him somehow. Fourth year dorms were out, since they belonged to his brothers and Lee, and anybody above that the clothes would be way too big for him to pass off as his own.

Ron was starving by now, and quite sure that he was late to class. Ron rushed back into his dorm room and spotted the dress hanging in his closet. He went to put on underwear and only found those blasted green and silver lace jobs somebody had stuffed in his bag the week before. Knowing that he DEFINITELY did not want to try wearing his roommate's underwear he stuffed a pair on and begrudgingly put the dress on. It fit perfectly. Ron was still scowling five minutes later when he realized that a self-sticking hair band complete with ribbon that matched the dress had appeared in his hair. It pulled his fringe back from his forehead and was covered with lace and little green crystals.

When Ron finally realized that none of his robes were in his closet, and that the only socks he could find had blue ribbon around the ankles he was ready to murder somebody. He put those socks on, and the loafers as well since his trainers had vanished and ran out the door. He marveled at the empty hallways, blessing his luck as he ran to McGonagall's office to get her to 'help'. When Ron realized that neither Professor McGonagall nor the Headmaster were in their office he came to a devastating conclusion, something he had forgotten in his rush.

Today was the final round of the Dueling Club. Meaning that the entire school would be in the Great Hall, including the teachers he needed.

Not only that, but because he was easily half an hour late into the proceedings, he would be the only person entering.

Malfoy was, of course, the loudest.

"Oi Weasley! I realize that your family is poor, but when did you start having to wear your little sister's clothes?" The Slytherins laughed. Snape sneered, McGonagall looked disappointed. He ran desperately over to her, even though most of the school had already seen his outfit.

"Professor you HAVE to help me!" He gushed. "Somebody stole all my clothes and left me with these…" The entire hall was filled with laughter at his outfit and at his expense.

McGonagall's eye twitched. "Well perhaps somebody was just paying you back in kind for almost landing Neville Longbottom in St. Mungos."

Ron's eyes went wide. "WHAT! I never did anything to him!"

McGonagall frowned. "Do not lie, Mr. Weasley. You are in quite enough trouble as it is. Not only did you steal from your own brothers, but you nearly poisoned Mr. Longbottom, who is highly allergic to some of the ingredients in this powder without you adding 'enhancements'."

Ron paled as she held up the box of powder he had used on Longbottom's sheets. He thought for sure he destroyed that box!

"So while I do not condone pranks, your fellow students sought to punish your horrific actions against a fellow student. You can remain dressed like that." McGonagall turned, but then turned back and looked at Ron once more.

"Oh, and please do go sit with your year-mates. Attendance at this event is mandatory, and you have already lost points by being so late, plus by being a distraction and interrupting a match with your outburst."

Ron went and sat down, red faced, on the end of the bench containing second-year students. He glared across the aisle at Potter, who smirked and turned to talk to his little friends Zabini and Greengrass. The three smiled together before focusing on the exhibition match.

That night Ron tried to catch his roommates in their room, but he was unable to. He opened his wardrobe, hoping his clothes were back but only finding a floor length silk gown with long sleeves and a high collar. It was dark green, trimmed in a color resembling old lace. Attempts at finding alternate clothes to sleep in failed, and he could not possibly sleep in the dress he was wearing. Ron grunted and put the gown on when nobody would help him transfigure the dress, and he certainly could not sleep in just the underwear.

The next morning Ron woke up refreshed again, the previous night seeming like a nightmare until he found the dorm empty again. He opened his closet, expecting his proper clothes to be back, but this time finding a dark green frock with silver ribbons and bows covering it. This time the dress had multiple petticoats which made it stand out like a ball gown. Twenty fruitless minutes later and Ron was resolved to wearing the knee-length tea dress.

Ron endured an entire week of being forced to wear dresses which got increasingly more elaborate, something he did not know was possible after the tea dress, and each time the dress was either Ravenclaw colors or Slytherin colors, and each night he had to endure the Victorian style night gown. He tried sleeping in underwear one night only to find he had been short sheeted and no matter what he did, the duvet would not stay over his body. The entire school laughed at him constantly and people had been taking pictures of him, as well. Yet no matter how hard he tried he could not catch any of his roommates, or anybody else, messing with his wardrobe. Not even Percy came to his aide, as his older brother simply frowned and told him he needed to 'grow up' and 'handle his roommate problems like everybody else did'.

Ron KNEW it was the twins, but he also knew that he would never be able to prove it.

* * *

Two weeks later and Harry had it figured out. His Ravenclaw tendencies paid off in droves as he figured out that the snake he had seen was a basilisk. It fit all the evidence: turning people into stone if they saw his eyes indirectly, large and magical, and able to live for years between meals.

He was still working out how he could free his basilisk without problems. She, and Harry decided that the snake must be a she, was large, but he would succeed. The Forbidden Forest was the easiest idea, but how could he get her there, and fix her exit tunnel without anyone noticing? Aunt Cassi and Uncle Orion would flip if they found out he was actively speaking with a basilisk. Calling her dangerous was an understatement. His uncle was already quite upset with him that he had 'risen to the bait' and revealed himself as a Parselmouth. Enemies of the Black family could make his life very difficult with that tidbit of information.

So asking for help was out. It was much too dangerous. A teacher would instantly assume he was the 'Heir of Slytherin' and have him expelled. The snake would be killed and he would have to go to school elsewhere, and that was without the possibility he would be arrested for multiple attempted murders. A trip to Azkaban did not fit into his 10-year plan.

So he would have to find a way to liberate his basilisk the old fashioned way: hard work and research. Thus he sat with Daphne, Mira, Blaise and Theo in their customary corner of the library. They were all studying or revising, but Harry was still glad for the silent company. Things had been hectic for a while, with Lockhart getting worse as time progressed. His memory seemed to be slipping as well. He often looked blankly as classes filtered in, and then began talking. Four times already in his class Lockhart had gone almost an entire lecture period re-lecturing something from weeks ago. Calling them lectures was a stretch, but Harry had it on good authority by way of Dru that the same thing was happening in other classes as well.

As if they shared a brain, Blaise grumbled "Incompetent teachers!"

"What now?" Harry looked up from his work. He was planning several fly-overs of the castle to see if there were secluded areas he could use to free the basilisk.

"Sprout and this blasted essay about the growth cycles of mandrakes. Doesn't she realize that the Headmaster plans to harvest them before we get to finish the full cycle, which includes the off-sprouting of baby mandrakes?"

Harry shook his head. "I doubt she does. Dumbledore seems the type to plan things without informing his staff, or make dangerous decisions without thinking them through. She probably just assumes that they'll wait until after exams when we've finished studying them to use them. Remember last year with the troll?"

They all remembered. Dumbledore was about to send the school out to their common rooms, in just the care of prefects, with a troll roaming the hallways, with no way of knowing how it got in or if other worse dangers would be lurking the hallways. That, and the Headmaster was planning on sending the Slytherins right to the very location the troll had been spotted. It also didn't help that traveling distances might have been dangerous in that people could have gotten separated from the rest of the House.

"That, and here's a question, on the subject of mandrakes. Are we to honestly believe that there are NO fully-grown mandrakes in the entirety of the world? Nobody has essence of mandrake? It is a common enough ingredient, even if there is none to be found in Britain, somebody must grow it somewhere."

Miranda spoke up. "I don't even understand how they KNOW it will work! What if whatever petrified the mudbloods has some side effect, something that the mandrake will react negatively to? Have they tried anything else?"

Daphne frowned. "Who knows, who cares. Nobody important was petrified, or else the school would already be shut down and Dumblesnore sacked."

Harry chuckled. "It still speaks of a larger problem. Aunt Cassi was right. We don't learn half the things witches and wizards learn at other schools. Dru only goes to school here because she's the oldest Black of the generation and it's sort of tradition. I doubt the twins will step one foot into the castle. I wanted to come for the tradition of it, to meet British wizards and witches that I might not otherwise have associated with. If it wasn't for you guys I would leave Hogwarts and go study in America."

Blaise nodded. "I've thought for some time about transferring to Drumstang. You would go to that school Orion went to, right?"

Harry nodded. "My maternal grandmother has ties there as well. The males in her family have gone there for generations."

Theo frowned. "Isn't that school an all boys school?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, but there are plenty of mixers with the all-girls school. Besides, it would be so much more convenient to be taught all my subjects as a part of a curriculum rather than having to pay a tutor for subjects I should be learning anyway."

The others nodded. Most of the pureblood children and a good number of more traditional half-bloods received similar tutoring. While some students just learned literature, politics, arithmetic and a fine art, other families encouraged the study of magical subjects not on the Hogwarts curriculum list.

Daphne's face was unreadable, but only for a moment. "Well let's get through this year first. Next year might be different, you never know!"

Harry shrugged, and turned back to his books. Daphne pouted for a moment, but saw that everybody else had turned back to his or her individual studies, so she too continued revising for Transfiguration.

* * *

"The attacks have stopped, Grim."

Grim looked up from his plans at Croaker. "Have they?"

Croaker nodded. "We know not how or why, but this final attack seems to be the last. We appreciate your work, but there seems to be no need to infiltrate Hogwarts to lay your runes."

Grim shrugged. "Won't it still be a good idea to lay these runes, just to be safe?"

Croaker nodded. "Indeed it will, but your time with us is coming to an end. We should finalize our plans for Emerald in that time, and the other Unspeakables will work on expanding these runes to cover all known entry points to Hogwarts. Shining Star feels that it may be important to protect the walls of the school from attack. She says that she has visions of the sky burning green over Hogwarts."

Grim nearly choked. "Death Eaters?"

Croaker did nothing to confirm his assumption. "Only time will tell. Already a malevolent spirit seems to have settled over the school. Change is on the wind. What happens at Hogwarts in the coming years will affect us all, and Emerald is at the center. He is the keystone to our success or failure. His path will be the path all of us, young and old, will follow."

Grim nodded. "I will prepare the plans."

Croaker smiled a rare smile. "Perfect. Your success on these plans will mean your future, you understand that."

Grim sighed. "I do. It has been a pleasure serving with you."

"You have unique skills, and a unique connection to the keystone, Emerald. You must be prepared to guide him forward. Your de-briefing will occur in May. There are many things to prepare for your re-entry into society. Much work has been done to maintain your location, and the removal of those blocks will take slow and careful work. The backlash must be contained in order to ensure our success and your complete integration without any 'ill effects.'"

Grim nodded. "Understood."

Croaker left the man to his work. He had a lot of appointments to make if they were going to successfully re-introduce Sirius Black to the world without Dumbledore's interference, or that of the other members of the House of Black.

* * *

Ginny smiled as the final piece of the puzzle slid into place. She would wait to reveal who she had become, _what _she had become. Her forefather's beast no longer heeded her calls, but all was well, anyway. She did not need the snake for what she needed to do.

No. She simply needed blood, and as she left her last class of the day, she knew exactly whose blood it would be.

All she had to do was wait.

* * *

The man known as Gilderoy Lockhart was a master of memory erasing spells and potions. He had gotten so adept at both he knew exactly how to brew his potions to get the effect he wanted. He could make people forget they spoke to him, he could make people forget they had done something spectacular, he could even get a person to forget his own name.

Gilderoy Lockhart was not quite right in the head. Every since an incident when he was six he had hidden a part of himself. He created an entire new person, one who had not been hurt the way young Gillie had been.

But then, every once in a while, Gillie came out, the same wounded animal he had been before, and wanted to HURT others the way he had been hurt. He was very successful at that most of the time, more successful than his failed attempt at stage and screen, more successful than even his attempts at small time muggle commercials. He tried very hard to learn simple mind control or the Imperius, but he never could quite make the person believe him once he was in their heads. Oh, he was an excellent actor outside, but as he had no idea how a proper person thinks, he could not affect those changes within a person's mind.

Eventually he gave up. He had already stolen some creative ideas from the minds of muggles, and saw how easy it was to pass somebody else's work off as your own with the right tools. He had made quite a profit on cartoons and television pilots. He began to travel, seeking new ideas to steal when he came across his first victim. A man in Germany who was a half-blood at least, the result of those Nazi experiments, from the looks of his light eyes and blonde hair. The man had been a wealth of information on Chimeras. Lockhart's first magical book, _Chatting with Chimeras_, was regarded as the most accurate account of human chimera experiments written in the modern era, after half human transfigurations were banned in the early 1700s. He had actually explained rather well how animagi differed from chimeras in that magical chimeras were forced into animal forms, while animagi developed the form and the ability to go from human to animal through work and intense study.

His life exploded from there, the pressure to write more books grew and Lockhart found more witches and wizards to 'borrow' stories from, erasing their memories afterwards.

And this, this creature would be his crowning achievement. Saving the whole school from certain harm. He had managed to pick up some knowledge in his travels, and figured the creature for a basilisk. Or at least he could make it seem like it was a basilisk. _Battle with a Basilisk _sounded like a lovely title. All he needed now was a student to do all, or most of the work for him. He would probably compensate the families, or at least nominate a scholarship it his honor.

It was these thoughts that occupied Lockhart, and a rather vain belief that he could recognize a mind control spell from a mile away that caused Lockhart to miss the small child pointing a wand at him from a corner.

* * *

Ginny blinked. That was easy. Now to move in for the 'kill'.

"Professor Lockhart, Professor Lockhart!" Ginny moved over quickly, making sure that the upper level students watching her saw her talking to the professor.

"Yes?" Lockhart looked down at the small girl.

"There's something I HAVE to show you, you won't believe it, but it's very scary and I need your help."

Lockhart nodded. "Alright. Show me, dear one."

Ginny nodded, projecting the image of a frightened first year, as she walked Lockhart up to the seldom-used girls bathroom.

"It's in here." She stated. Lockhart followed obediently.

Ginny walked over to the sink she needed, and hissed at it ::Open::. The sink moved backward, revealing a pipe, near which her conjured rope still sat.

"It's down here." She said, looking back to make sure that Lockhart was still following. He was, but he didn't even look like he was aware of where he was anymore.

"You go first. I'm scared." Ginny spoke again, her voice indicating that she was quite 'scared'. Her body language was a different story.

They entered the pipe, and Ginny hissed ::Close:: to seal the pipe above her.

Safely in the pipe, Ginny relaxed her hold over her glamour, and the girl with orange-red hair and too many freckles faded into a girl with strawberry blonde hair and porcelain skin. Her hair still had a ways to go, but it was more blonde than red, and certainly not Weasley red. She instead focused her magic on the control she had over Lockhart, although she was amazed he was as easy to control as he was.

They reached the end of the pipe, and Ginny hissed at the door in front of them. ::Open::

The door swung open revealing a large chamber with a statue of Slytherin one of the more dominant features.

Now it was time to play. She needed blood for the next ritual, but she realized that she could not just 'have' blood. Her minions were too valuable to her in her current form, and the snake had stopped responding to her commands, so she needed options.

Lockhart was perfect, and she could even continue her charade. After all, how better to be of service to the Dark Lord when he returned than to be a wolf among sheep, hearing and seeing things that not even the Dark Lord's trusted spy Severus would see.

But the Dark Lord wouldn't be doing anything if she didn't finish this thrice-damned ritual.

Fully under her control, Lockhart obediently walked into the middle of the rune circle she had completed the day before. As soon as he entered a small bed-shaped platform emerged from the floor, only a few inches off of the ground. Lockhart sat down on the bed, and then adjusted himself so that he was completely prone. The magic of the runes was combining with the multiple layers of impulse and suggestion spells they had spent the last two weeks layering on Lockhart making him quite malleable. A thought, and grooves appeared in the table leading to the bottom of the table. The platform lifted slightly higher and a small bowl appeared below, with the grooves feeding into it. She had enough blood-replenishing potions to keep the man bleeding for three days without dying, although that type of turnover would have negative implications for the body.

But Lockhart would not be surviving this little trip through hell, so it didn't matter. What DID matter was that Ginny had the deepest desire to see the man's misery before it was all said and done, and that would happen.

Ginny had timed the attack perfectly. First-year exams began on Tuesday, and this was the final Hogsmeade weekend before that happened. It was Friday, and with it being a 'free study day' nobody was having classes, being free to revise for exams. Thus her continued absence would not be noted by anybody until curfew on Monday.

And then the real fun would begin!

But for now, she had to deal with Lockhart and her need for blood. After all, the Dark Lord needed his strength back.

Ginny took a worn black diary out of the bag she had brought down with her. She hugged it for a moment and smiled sadly.

"I'll miss you, love. I will always live to serve."

She began chanting in Latin and the runes activated fully, trapping Lockhart in place and freezing all other body processes aside from breathing, his heart beating and his brain thinking, and more importantly, feeling. He would be awake for the next 72 hours, and the runes would alert her when his body could not produce blood on its own anymore.

Ginny took out the ritual dagger, placed the diary in the bowl at the foot of the platform, and began chanting again.

"To my Lord do I dedicate my blood, my spirit and my life. I have purified myself in your name, to dedicate myself to your cause in body through magic. Accept my sacrifice that you might live to purify us all. So Mote It Be."

Ginny opened to the middle of the blank diary and sliced her own wrist, bleeding into the diary until she felt dizzy. She closed the wound and waited.

She felt a pulling sensation as Tom left her completely and entered the diary once more. She felt the stinging sense of loss from the absence of the person she had shared a body with for the entire school year. The blood absorbed into the diary and it was almost as if the diary was breathing.

Ginny began again. "I present this living sacrifice to you, so that you might grow strong." She then walked over to where Lockhart was laying and smirked. "Bleed so that others might live." She then sliced the major vein in his wand arm, where the concentration of magic would be strongest. She used a vein to avoid the blood splatter from opening an artery. She then sliced the bottoms of his feet after banishing his shoes and socks.

Ginny then moved back as the blood began to flow. She closed her eyes and observed the barren landscape where once her beloved held court. She then noticed something in the corner.

A crown, a princess tiara except more elaborate, with rubies and diamonds and emeralds in thin lace-like platinum. It whispered to her, and she saw the elfin language and the runes made to look like simple etchings. Next to it was a small thing, wriggling and alive. A note appeared, and she smiled.

"A parting gift. Guard it with your life, and you will never be lonely again."

So her beloved left a part of himself behind after all. She took it to where she knew her magical core could be accessed at least partially. She found it, glowing a lovely Slytherin green, despite the efforts of her family for years to turn her into a mudblood loving Gryffindor. It had strengthened due to her Lord's care. She inserted the creature, permanently fusing the part of him he left behind with herself. She smiled as she felt his presence fill her mind once more, except now they were one and the same. She did not fight, she accepted him into the very heart of her being.

The crown was symbolic. No matter what happened to her, she would always be his. Though she could not tell whether he saw her as his Queen, his Lady or as his Princess, the daughter he would raise in his likeness, she still treasured the thought of belonging to something greater than herself and more worthy than her former parents.

The alarm sounded, and Ginny awoke from her meditations to feed Lockhart the first of his blood replenishing potions. He was bleeding nicely now, and the book was rapidly absorbing it all.

If anybody had seen her, they would have been treated to the sight of Ginny's eyes flashing blood red in honor of her Sire.

Ginny closed her eyes again and continued to meditate. Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

Will Rosier smiled a cold smile as the rune glowed brightly on the piece of parchment he had tied to a certain rune array beneath the school. It was time for him to begin his work.

Slowly but surely he would release clues so that people would eventually realize that his Mistress was in the Chamber of Secrets, and where that location was. A repelling charm would keep everybody away until the Mistress was finished with her tasks. He was not sure how she planned on bleeding Lockhart and then making it look like he was the aggressor, but Evan did not doubt his Mistress in the least.

* * *

The slim, dark haired ghost appeared late Saturday evening. Lockhart was ashen, and he was having problems with his major organs. His kidneys especially. His bone marrow was almost depleted from constantly having to replace the blood in his body forcefully through the potions, and from the lack of adequate blood flow to his lungs and brain he would have damage there too. But the sight of her dark haired prince was all worth it.

She walked over to his ghost. "My Lord."

"Ah, Ginerva. Are you still calling yourself that?" The ghost whispered.

"For the time, My Lord. I will wait for when it is appropriate to claim my new identity."

The ghost nodded. He observed the man bleeding into his diary.

"That is enough. We will stop it here."

"But you are not yet whole, My Lord."

The ghost shimmered angrily. "Be glad that I am not, Ginerva, or else you would pay for speaking to me in such an impudent manner."

Ginny bowed her head. "I am sorry, my Lord."

The dark haired boy nodded. "It is well. I can take over his body to execute the next phase of our plan."

Ginny moved quickly at that, healing numerous cuts that she had made and giving Lockhart another blood replenishing potion. The rest of the blood drained into the Diary and it was quickly absorbed. She then watched as the spirit of her Lord forced its way into Lockhart's body. She hoped that he would have enough strength to carry out the task, but knew that it was foolish of her to doubt the most powerful wizard since Dumbledore.

Ginny went back to where the pallet she had made was and meditated and slept until he woke up late the next day.

Lockhart woke up, but it was the Dark Lord controlling him. They began making it look like Ginny was the one who was about to be subjected to a dark ritual by Lockhart. Lockhart's body was still quite weak, so it took the better part of Sunday evening and Monday to make sure there were no traces of what Ginny had done, including casting many charms to cover up Ginny's use of the Imperius curse. As they waited for Ginny's 'rescue', the Dark Lord taught her many things she would need to know once she was old enough to join his ranks as a trainee, eventually leading to what she would need to do to take his Mark.

Sometime Tuesday afternoon Ginny felt her pocket heat up, knowing that this meant that Evan was warning her to be in 'places'.

"They come, My Lord."

Lockhart's face twisted into a dark smile and he began tying Ginny down to the altar with the now deactivated runes. He simply tied her down and conjured a spellbook about Dark sacrifice rituals, opening it to a page which was perfect for their purpose: A ritual designed to grant beauty using the blood of a pureblood virgin. It would certainly serve as an effective cover story. They opened the door to the Chamber so that only the sink stood in the way of Ginny's 'rescue'. Lockhart's body moved over to where Ginny's bed had been and sat as if he was studying the ritual.

Twenty minutes later they could hear loud noises above them, and then movement down the pipe.

"They must have blown up that sink" Ginny murmured before the Dark Lord knocked her out.

* * *

Ginny woke up sometime later in the hospital wing to the faces of her annoying parents and brothers. Dumbledore stood off to one side, looking worried and annoyed at the same time. Ginny raised her mental shields up to the highest level, and was thankful that she had thought to hide the diary in a hidden pocket of her bag, and stuff that in a dark corner of the Chamber. She could go retrieve it later. It had to get sent to the right people so that the wraith of the Dark Lord could use it in his ritual.

"Ginny you're awake!" Her mother exclaimed. She endured many hugs from her brothers, and her mother sat on her bed holding her hand.

"It is good that we found you in time, Ms. Weasley. It appears that Professor Lockhart was about to use you in some dark ritual, but was studying it when we arrived." Dumbledore walked over to her. She felt him brush against her mental shields and played a memory of her going to talk to Professor Lockhart before things went 'black'.

The Headmaster frowned slightly before sighing. "Professor Lockhart is here, we can't move him until he's stable again."

Ginny nodded numbly.

"Albus! Leave that poor child alone. She's traumatized and possibly in shock from being abducted by a Professor!" Madam Pomfrey looked livid at the Headmaster.

Albus nodded. "Perhaps when you are feeling better you can come to my office to talk about it?"

Ginny nodded again, wanting nothing more than to 'sleep' so that she could contemplate the next move. Evan had done well, and deserved a reward for his service to the cause.

* * *

Two days later Ginny was released. She would sit her exams over the summer, with the exception of DADA. Everybody was getting an average of their other grades for that class, since after the fourth years took their test it was obvious that they had learned even less than the year before.

The rubble had been cleared from the bathroom, and the Aurors had made their report. She only hoped that none of them had found her bag. A gaping hole with a simple warding scheme had been created where the entrance should have been. It was very easy to override the wards, since she knew what to look for.

Down the pipe she went one last time, and luck had been on her side. Her bag was untouched once she removed the spells hiding its presence. Apparently the Parsel spells were undetectable by normal means. The Diary was still in its place. Luckily Lockhart was still unconscious and had not been moved to St. Mungos prison ward. She grabbed the bag and went back up the pipe, replacing the wards after she passed. Dumbledore had obviously not done them, since they were very simplistic and easy to replicate using the knowledge the Dark Lord had given her.

Later that night she went back to the Hospital Wing and stood by Lockhart's bed. The Aurors saw no need to guard him, as he was in a magical coma, and the only ward around his bed was to let the Medi-witch know if he woke up.

"My Lord." Ginny whispered, in case somebody was listening.

Lockhart's body quivered and shook, and the Dark Lord removed himself from the shell of Lockhart's body.

"You have done well, Ginerva. I will see you again." The Dark Lord smiled a dark smile that had just a hint of warmth in it. Ginny opened the Diary and the Dark Lord's ghostly figure shimmered as he allowed himself to be transferred back into the Diary.

Satisfied, Ginny went back to her dorm in Gryffindor tower and slept. The time was coming, and soon she would be released from this inferior life she led.

* * *

Harry crept down a seemingly deserted tunnel underneath the school. It connected to the Shrieking Shack, and was close enough to the forest and far enough away from school that people would have to come out specifically looking for the decrepit building to see anything. His pet basilisk could easily live here. Now he was seeing if there was a way to connect it to an entrance to the Chamber. With the upheaval surrounding Ginny Weasley's apparent kidnapping by Professor Lockhart Harry felt it was important to give his basilisk an escape route in case a more thorough investigation of the Chamber occurred. Harry doubted that it would, but he was never anything but cautious.

To his left a small opening caught his attention. It was small and round, and looked more like a burrow for an animal than a passageway. He set his torch down and began clearing the hole manually, afraid that using spells might alert somebody to his location.

Hours later Harry had cleared enough to walk into what was actually another tunnel. He took up his torch and walked, eventually finding a door slightly taller than he was covered in snakes.

::Open:: Harry tried, and the door vanished. He walked in and followed another short tunnel to a blank space of wall.

::Open:: Harry tried, and the seemingly solid wall vanished at his command. He found himself in the Chamber, in the Potions lab to be exact. Once he stepped in he turned back to the wall, which from this side had been spelled to look like a 'window'. It was probably why he had not noticed it before. This was perfect! He went to issue his report to the basilisk.

::Hello?:: Harry walked into the main chamber where he first encountered the Basilisk. He was slightly disturbed by the remains of the altar Lockhart had been using to kill Ginny Weasley.

::Speaker. You have Returned:: The statue of Slytherin opened it's mouth and the basilisk slid out.

::I have found a way for you to exit the castle. Follow me.::

The snake followed Harry back out to the way he came in. He took her all the way to the Shrieking Shack so that she could get the scent of the path he had taken.

::Thank you, Speaker. You have earned the right that I may call you Master.::

Harry nodded. ::If I need you again, or if I need to talk to you, where will I find you?::

::There is a summoning stone in my nest within the Chamber. Masters of old used it to call to me when I was out on my hunts. I will return to you if you use that.::

::Very well then. Happy hunting!::

The large snake vanished off into the darkness, and Harry went back through the tunnel to use the passageway to the sixth floor. He was thankful for his Cloak making the passage easier. Luck was on his side, as dawn broke on that Saturday morning and he could sleep in knowing his snake was safe.

* * *

Three days later and the petrified students began to wake up, having been treated using the Mandrake solution. Students whispered about Lockhart's mysterious death the Saturday Harry released the basilisk, but nobody could confirm any of the rumors.

Ginny looked at herself in the mirror. Her glamour was firmly in place, and her shields were up. She wore a simple black robe to meet the Headmaster in his office after breakfast. The last of exams were finishing today, and it was the last opportunity she had to go to the Headmaster on her own terms. Her parents had finally left, and her brothers had taken to watching her constantly. She had been lucky to be able to sneak out of the dorm to retrieve the Diary without any of them noticing.

"Sometimes nothing changes." Ginny whispered to herself. She frowned. She had to pick a new first name, and soon. The name Ginerva was unacceptable, and Molly was even worse. Smoothing her hands down her front she went to the Great Hall.

Later, in the Headmaster's office she noticed that Professor Snape and her Head of House were present when she climbed the stairs.

"Ah, Miss Weasley. Are you recovered enough to tell us of your ordeal?"

Ginny looked. She understood why McGonagall was there, but not why Snape was.

At her questioning look Dumbledore smiled. "Professor Snape is here because one of his students reported that the last time anyone had seen you was walking down the hallway with Professor Lockhart."

Ginny sighed. "I went to Professor Lockhart Friday. I had seen something kind of scary and I wanted him to see what it was. I… I remember walking with him up to the third floor. There was a cabinet up there that rattled and shook a lot. I… I wanted to open it but I was afraid." Ginny was glad that the Rosiers had been able to plant that boggart for her earlier in the term.

"I don't remember anything after that. I'm sorry"

Dumbledore nodded. "He must have knocked you out and gone back to retrieve you later. He had a review session for his Fifth years, and was seen in the Great Hall up until Sunday evening. He must have gone to set up the Chamber and then moved you on Monday."

Ginny was pleased. Evan WAS good, if he was parading around as Lockhart to throw the timeline off his disappearance off.

Dumbledore suddenly frowned. "Did you see anything in the Chamber while you were there?"

Ginny shook her head. "No. I didn't see anything. I don't remember anything…" Ginny shook for effect. "I don't remember! Did he do something to me?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, dear. He did not."

Ginny painted a look of relief on her face. "May I be excused, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore smiled at her. "Of course, Miss Weasley. If you ever need anything, or if you remember anything…"

"I will go to my Head of House." Ginny finished.

Dumbledore nodded and Ginny left.

"Lockhart was not the Heir of Slytherin." McGonagall said at once. "He was too incompetent to have orchestrated those attacks.

Snape sniffed. "We only believe it is the Heir of Slytherin because they called themselves that. We have no evidence that it was anything more than some dark spells cast at unsuspecting people. Except for Ms. Brown, they were all half bloods or muggle borns, and mostly girls. Do we know anything else?"

Dumbledore frowned deeply. "All of the victims reported being on or near the second floor when they were attacked. They have no memory of the attack or the attacker."

"Except for Miss Norris, and she cannot be a witness. She was near the Great Hall when she was found." McGonagall pondered.

Snape continued. "The cat is light enough that she could have been on the second floor and moved. Also, she could have been a test subject."

Dumbledore looked at the sallow man. "What are you thinking, Severus?"

Snape frowned. "It is only a myth, a legend practitioners of the Dark Arts know by heart. There is rumored to be an artifact known as Medusa's Gaze that can petrify living beings. It is only a rumor, but if somebody managed to procure one and bring it into Hogwarts…"

"We can't just go searching everybody's belongings! It has been two months since the last attack, not counting Miss Weasley." McGonagall pointed out.

Dumbledore nodded. "True. What of other magic?"

Snape scowled. "I suspect it was Lockhart. A man that slippery could have gotten rid of any object he had which would match up with Ms. Weasley's story. Ms. Weasley vanished on Friday. That would have been enough time for Lockhart to rid himself of the item before returning to the Chamber to conduct the ritual. He had a quite a dark book in his possession, Headmaster. It is not a far reach to assume he could have access to dark objects as well."

McGonagall scoffed. "You can't possibly be assuming that Lockhart had access to this 'Medusa's Gaze', a supposedly rare object, and was using it on students?"

"I am simply going on what evidence we have. He was found with a young girl alone with a book on blood rituals. Not to mention that he has been rumored to have a 'history'." Snape inclined his head.

McGonagall paled. "A HISTORY? Albus, please tell me that Severus is merely stretching the truth."

Albus shrugged. "Nothing was substantiated. I cannot deny a man a job based on rumors."

Snape was livid, but here was an old argument. He was more than willing to take the DA position, and any number of competent individuals existed beyond Slughorn to teach Potions in his stead. Instead of exploding he focused the topic back to Lockhart.

"The man has a rumored 'history', several younger students have been injured this year, mainly first and second year students, and one young lady was found in his company unconscious and tied to an altar surrounded by blood letting runes. What other conclusion do we have except that he was behind all of the attacks?"

"There were similar attacks fifty years ago. Hagrid had his wand snapped because of them. He was not the perpetrator then, but Lockhart was not even alive at that point." McGonagall frowned.

"We also cannot assume that the are caused by the same perpetrator. We have been having the same argument all term about this problem, Minerva, and nothing will come of it unless we get more evidence. Without further attacks we must rely on the evidence we have. The evidence we have is far from conclusive on any front, except that the attacks originated on the second floor and that none of the victims remember being attacked. Did the Aurors find anything?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Only two locked doors they could not open and the altar. There was evidence of a lot of spell usage but other than that, nothing."

McGonagall sighed. "Ok. I will concede your point, Severus. However if events continue to happen… I just don't understand how a man like Lockhart could do such things."

Severus shrugged. "There are greater mysteries in the world than this, Minerva."

"That does not explain the other victims." Minerva suddenly countered.

Severus thought for a minute. "The other victims were found rather quickly after they were attacked, sometimes within minutes of the attack. It might be that we have been inadvertently thwarting earlier attempts."

McGonagall paled at that. "This is very troublesome, Severus."

"Indeed. If we are finished here?" Severus looked at Dumbledore.

"We are. If there are any new developments you will be informed."

Severus nodded and left. Once he had reached the safety of his personal quarters he released the deep breath he had been holding and rolled up his sleeve.

The faint outline of the Dark Mark remained, and the tingling sensation he had felt in the Headmaster's office had faded.

"You are quite the actress, Miss Weasley." Severus said to himself. Something was going on, and he was almost afraid of what it meant. Was the Dark Lord indeed returning, and if so, what of his oath to protect Harry in case he did?

When Severus had taken that oath, it was almost a guarantee that Harry was going to grow up just as Gryffindor as his parents had been. Severus would sacrifice himself and his still hidden desires. He would work for Dumbledore to take down the Dark Lord.

And now, Snape was not so sure. He was afraid that Dumbledore would up the gambit to bring out the boy's Gryffindor nature to force him to take up the role Dumbledore had planned. Dumbledore had, however, grossly underestimated the power and strength of the Black family once more. The boy would not be swayed easily.

Snape contemplated the bourbon on his shelf before deciding to make his report first.

"Croaker." Severus tapped the sigul which acted as a secure line to the man's office.

"Obsidian."

"I have a report for you…"

* * *

I only have one more note about Ginny. It's not a Horcrux.


	21. Interlude Deux

Another Chapter (Yay!) I have begun the process of editing earlier chapters. Most of the changes are not major (Fixing the spelling of Titania Lestrange, making sure that I have Tracey's last name constant.) But there are two slightly more important changes. I noticed in an earlier chapter (first or second) that the Dark Lord had ordered mothers with babies and small children to a safe-house. This would have included Bellatrix Lestrange. Yet I had her in jail when she would not have left the safe-house because her twins were still too young to leave by themselves. So I fixed that. I also fixed Lily's interactions with her mother and Susannah's (Lily's birth mother) interactions after Lily's death.

And before you argue, Bellatrix might have been fanatical, but she followed orders. Having children and staying at the safe-house were two direct orders by the Dark Lord. So she would have followed them.

As always, Read, Review, Enjoy.

* * *

Ginerva Weasley smiled darkly as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was by no means finished with the treatments to purge herself of Weasley traits, but with the Dark Lord's help she was moving along much faster than before.

Without the glamour, her hair was growing to be a nice ice-blonde. Not white blonde like Malfoy, but very light with a gilded hue. Her eyes were a deep purple color and her face was delicate yet refined. She had the Black cheekbones, but the rest of her delicate features came from her previously recessed family genes. Overall she was very pleased that she would be a welcomed member of society once her Lord rose and she could drop the ruse of being Ginny Weasley.

She even had come up with the perfect name. Nothing untoward for a first name, elegant and classic just like she was, but her middle name was perfection. It was absolutely prefect to go with her Lord.

When she finished her assignment, and it was safe for Ginny Weasley to die, Victoria Azraiel Yaxley would be born, and she would destroy anyone who dared defy the one who had liberated her from the mundane existence as the seventh child of poor blood traitors. She smiled wider, revealing perfect pearly white teeth peeking from slightly pouty lips.

A rustling sound indicated that her 'roommates' were getting ready to enter the bath. Victoria re-applied her glamour and quickly finished her morning routine.

* * *

Severus Snape stepped out of the floo at Malfoy Manor dressed impeccably. His customary black teaching robes had been discarded for cotton dark grey ones of the finest quality. He sighed as he brushed stray soot from his robes and went to announce his arrival. He was permanently keyed into the wards of the manor, and even had a room in the guest wing dedicated as his. When staying at Hogwarts became too much, or he needed closer proximity to proper civilization than Spinner's End provided, he often stayed and enjoyed the gift of his own Potions lab the family had given him when he agreed to be Draco's godfather.

However this was not a social call. McGonagall had come up to him again with her concerns over young Ginny Weasley, indicating to him that the young girl had not spoken out loud since her ordeal in the Chamber below Hogwarts. She was clearly torn between helping her through whatever her problems were as a Gryffindor and conceding that maybe her sorting had been a mistake and she belonged in Slytherin. Snape knew why Minerva mentioned Slytherin and not Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Ginerva was not loyal enough or friendly enough for the house of Helga, nor was she intensely inquisitive enough for Rowena's house. Her quiet, brooding nature would fit in with his snakes. Minerva also reported that the girl had made no attempt even after her attack to make friends within her house, and continued to ignore her brothers. The girl barely spoke to her mother when she came to the hospital wing, instead pretending to sleep whenever Molly Weasley came near her.

That, plus the fact that whenever Weasley was near him his Dark Mark tingled put urgency to his steps. Croaker had instructed him to watch Ginny carefully for signs of possession and the like. So Snape made an appointment with Lucius, who was in the best position to petition for Ginny's re-sorting.

Lucius was in his office, working on paperwork when Snape approached.

"Enter. Ah Severus, how good to see you again." Lucius replied from behind his desk.

"And you, Lucius." Snape drawled. It was a bad habit he acquired from spending time around the elder Malfoy, one that he had broken himself of except when he was in the company of said elder Malfoy.

"You tell me this is not a social call." Lucius indicated the chair across the desk and Snape folded himself into it elegantly.

"The matter concerns a young pureblood girl, a first year, who found this year exceedingly difficult. She was sorted into Gryffindor and wishes to change to a different house. The Headmaster has repeatedly refused her pleas and she refuses to wear the house uniform. Minerva is very concerned about her health and mental wellbeing."

Lucius nodded. "As well you told me in your letter. What is her name, if I may ask?"

Severus nodded. "Ginny Weasley."

Lucius smiled one of those devious smiles that indicated he was plotting. "Of course. She was probably sorted based on her family traits, which the hat is known to do in cases of legacy. Andromeda was most certainly more of a Ravenclaw, but she was sorted Slytherin. I will bring it up to the Board of Governors, and will personally push for her immediate re-sorting once the fall term begins again. The headmaster probably has his reasons for wanting her to be a Gryffindor. He is not known for making the best decisions as of late…" Lucius trailed off.

Severus nodded. "There is something strange about the girl. Perhaps the Headmaster is afraid she might be the 'black sheep' of the family and will go dark."

Lucius shook his head. "From what I can gather, she has already gone dark."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Lucius nodded. "I received a letter from the young Rosier girl. She asked for assistance in gaining additional funds beyond her trust vault, and asked for several rare books of questionable content. When I asked her who they were for, she indicated that a 'snake in lion's clothing' needed assistance shedding her mane. Also, because I am the trustee of the Yaxley accounts I received a letter from Gringotts indicating that a 'new' heir had been discovered and that 'accommodations' should be made from her. The only other possible descendants are from the Weasley family, even though they were cut out from the family tree when Lysandra's daughter married that Weasley."

Severus paled. "Do you think that Ginny Weasley found a way to re-activate her Yaxley blood and wishes to become a Yaxley instead?"

Lucius nodded. "Yes. She would have direct claim. She might wait until she has passed her O. to reveal herself, but by all indications she has probably already done the ritual through Gringotts to claim her heritage."

"What of Hadrian?" Severus queried.

Lucius shook his head. "He will be of no consequence. He may even agree to be her 'guardian' of sorts."

Severus nodded. Yaxley had been injured by Aurors and rendered unable to have children. His fugitive status meant that Lucius was in charge of the accounts in the eyes of the law, being the closest living relative listed in the Ministry records.

"Have you informed him yet?" Severus queried.

"No. He is still in Albania. He will be informed when it is appropriate to do so."

"Ah. Very well then. I must get back. I fear that my prolonged absence from Hogwarts may be noticed by Dumbledore, and he would be most displeased to know the purpose of my visit here, although I do not doubt that he will soon know, since Minerva and I will both have to sign a statement if Miss Weasley's appeal is successful."

Lucius nodded. "Of course. Do stop by again once the term is over. Narcissa's family is planning a rather large party for Cassi's twins. They are to go to Beauxbatons since Cassi is set against them attending Hogwarts as Drusilla does. They start the new term in the summer, so the fete is scheduled for early July. I suspect it will be on the Island."

Severus understood. It was customary for pureblood families in Britain to send the oldest child to Hogwarts, to gain associates and refresh the family name within the school, but younger children often went elsewhere. Young Orion Black might yet attend Hogwarts, being the first legitimate Black male heir of the generation. Tristan and Draco represented the Lestranges and Malfoys although they were also of Black blood. In this he was surprised that Bellatrix permitted her twins, Titania and Miranda to attend Hogwarts, but he supposed it was their close association with Draco that won her over.

"I will strive to be in attendance. Good day, Lucius."

Lucius nodded. "Good day, Severus. We should chat again soon, and I will let you know how the petition goes."

With that Severus Snape rose and exited the office, making his way back to the Floo, and then back to his office, where a stack of final papers awaited his special touch.

* * *

A man woke up at 12 Grimmuald Place quite confused. He looked around him, and saw a well-used bedroom filled with Gryffindor materials. Next to his nightstand stood two empty vials and a milky blue one with the simple note 'Drink Me'.

The man, with no idea who he was and no better inclination than to do as instructed, did so.

A blinding pain shot through his head, like his skull was on fire. The pain was so great that he passed out, only to awake hours later with an elderly blonde witch standing over his bed. He opened his stormy grey eyes and looked at the mystery woman with interest.

"Who are you?" he managed to whisper through the lingering pain.

"Who I am matters not. It is likely that this is the last time you will see me, at any rate. What is more important to me, however, is if you know who you are?"

The man blinked, having no clue as to his identity. Then suddenly flashes of images assaulted his mind, threatening to give him another searing headache and he remembered.

_He remembered!_

"Sirius." The man frowned for a second. "Sirius Orion Black." The man jumped up suddenly looking around panicked. "Where is he? Where is that filthy rat?" He looked up accusingly at the witch. "What have you done with him?"

The witch shook her head. "You have already taken care of him. News should come soon. You need to rest and let your mind catch up. A nurse and a mind-healer will be by to check your progress. My colleague will come by later this week to brief you on what has happened in the years since your arrest."

Sirius blinked again. "Arrest? Years?" Then his mind caught up, remembering chasing Peter Pettigrew down a dark alleyway, then out into a crowded muggle street, where Peter set of an explosion before vanishing, leaving only a finger behind. He remembered the Aurors coming after him in the aftermath and arresting him. He remembered thinking that he needed to contact the family solicitor, or at least his distant cousin Ursula. He remembered…

"Harry! Oh Merlin Harry!"

The witch shook her head. "He is safe, and once everything has fallen into place a meeting will be arranged between his guardians and yourself."

More memories caught up to Sirius and he sighed. "Cassiopeia and her husband Orion. Right. Ok." Then, as more fog cleared from Sirius' brain he looked at the witch again.

"You're an Unspeakabe, aren't you?"

The woman nodded once. "I am. Great care was taken to prevent you going to Azkaban. Now that Peter has been captured we can break the charm preventing people from remembering your existence."

Sirius sighed. "That's all well and good, but I was just in lock-up. I would have gotten a trial and everything would have been cleared up. Dumbledore was the bonder of the _Fidelius. _He knew I was not the secret-keeper." Another memory flittered to the surface. Dumbledore refused to answer his floo call the night he got arrested.

The witch shook her head sadly. "We got wind that they were planning on transferring you to Azkaban after the next guard change, with the first shipment of confirmed Death Eaters arrested that night. You were not on the docket for a trial, and all further floo call requests you made were to be denied."

Sirius thought about the implications. "So I would have been sent to Azkaban without a trial. Moreover, I could not even have contacted my family members or a solicitor to petition for one on my behalf?"

The witch nodded. "It was highly unusual. That entire period was unusual, but every other witch or wizard arrested from early September to mid March had been given the right to a trial with witnesses on their behalf. We interceded, only planning on keeping you for a few hours. But then a Seer we have on staff had a vision involving you, and it became imperative that we protect you from Azkaban. Your sanity and ability to move about freely in public needed to be preserved."

Sirius sighed. "What would have happened, if I had gone to Azkaban?"

The witch looked sad. "You would have spent the past eleven or twelve years in jail, labeled as the Dark Lord's right hand man, betrayer of the Potters and murderer of twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew. You would use your dog form to eventually escape, motivated to hunt Pettigrew down after seeing him in his rat form in the Daily Prophet. Unfortunately for you, you would only be heard mentioning that 'he's at Hogwarts', and the general populace would believe that you were after Harry to finish the job you started in 1981."

"You would eventually get close to Hogwarts, but your damaged mind and blood thirst for revenge would simply put the school in a wider panic. You would catch Peter, but circumstances would lead to his escape, and without Peter nobody would believe the tale of an escaped convict and a werewolf. You would escape being kissed by Dementors, but forced to remain a prisoner in your own home until your death two years later. Your death would be caused primarily by your continued confinement from society in combination with the damage done by years in Azkaban. Peter would continue to escape justice until a life-debt he earned caused his death."

Sirius nodded. "But surely I could have gotten help from elsewhere? Right?"

The witch shook her head. "As in your time in 1981, the Ministry of that time was blind and refused to admit that they could have sent a man to jail without a trial, or even without questioning him under the law. The Minister at that time would eventually order you Kissed Upon Capture, preventing you from trying to obtain any justice for yourself."

Sirius looked down, lost in thought. He then looked back up. "So, what now? Why was I spared, not that I am ungrateful."

"The Seer saw a future, dark and bleak, our world destroyed by the least likely source. You are the key to making sure that this does not happen. You remaining sane will keep the balance through to the New Age."

Sirius blinked. "Me? Why me?"

The witch shook her head again. "I cannot tell you any more. There are dark times ahead, Sirius Black. Rest. Recover your memories. You have already done so much for us. Think about what I have told you about the past and about the future you could have had. Then think about your loyalties. That is all I can say. What are you most loyal to? Who are you most loyal to, and what are you willing to do for them?"

Sirius looked down again. He caught a glimpse of the Gryffindor crest on his bed linens. "James. There's no telling what kind of person I would have become if it wasn't for James. Andi was gone, Bellatrix was married to a Death Eater, Narcissa was married to a Death Eater, and my brother was a Death Eater. Without my friendship with James… I could have easily fallen to the pressure to join up. I joined the Order because of James. Dumbledore protected me while I was in school, but it was James' friendship that kept me on the path. He's gone now…"

Sirius felt the grief of losing his best friend anew.

The witch spoke once more. "You have options. A word of advice, if I may, Mr. Black: you are not a fresh-faced Auror just out of Hogwarts. Your Gryffindorish tendencies might have served you well before, but those same tendencies almost got you a lifetime sentence in Azkaban for a crime you did not commit."

Sirius nodded.

"I must leave now. My associate will be by later. Until then I suggest you rest."

The woman then vanished on the spot, leaving Sirius to contemplate everything she had told him.

* * *

Peter Pettigrew Discovered!

What had started off as a normal day for Amelia Bones turned into a frenzy when the previously assumed dead Peter Pettigrew showed up in Amelia Bones' office, bound in anti-animagus chains and stunned.

"I was having a meeting with my lead Auror, Kingsley, when he just appeared!" Madam Bones reported.

Pettigrew is being held in a secure, undisclosed location to be questioned by the Ministry. Already the hunt for Sirius Black has begun.

"We have paperwork that says that Sirius Black was arrested and ready to be transferred to Azkaban, but no record of any questioning or trial being held. Either he was released or escaped custody. We cannot be certain. The paperwork filed in his case is inadequate and would have been thrown out of open court, anyway. Why he was on a list to be transferred to Azkaban with such circumstantial evidence and no record of questioning or a signed confession is beyond my understanding. I was in St. Mungos during the incident, and the Head of the DMLE was still investigating the Potter residence. Pettigrew's appearance calls any paperwork we have on Sirius Black's involvement in the death of those twelve muggles into question, and clearly he cannot be charged for the death of a man who is very clearly still alive." Madam Bones spoke. "I cannot speak further on the matter until we have questioned Pettigrew and gotten to the bottom of where he has been these past twelve years."

In a signed statement, Minister Fudge acknowledged that in the interest of justice they would investigate the incident to their fullest extent.

"I stand completely behind Madam Bones in her investigation of this troubling new development."

Former Auror Alastor Moody commented, "Black tried to get me to talk to him. I wish I had listened." Moody further went on to comment on Sirius Black's short career as an Auror. "He showed great promise, him and James both. It does my old heart good to know that he didn't kill that Pettigrew boy."

Headmaster at Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore was unavailable for comment.

Charity K., Staff Reporter

* * *

The full Wizengamot sat, robes finely pressed and every seat filled. Peter Pettigrew had been duly questioned and deemed culpable in the deaths of twelve muggles, and also instrumental in the deaths of James and Lily Potter. He would not be questioned in the matter of other Death Eaters, but he would be tried by the full Wizengamot and sentenced accordingly.

Chief Solicitor Meadows rose from her seat after the court had been called to order. The Aurors prepared Pettigrew for questioning, and after the potion took hold Meadows began her interrogation.

"Please state your name for the Court."

"Peter Alan Pettigrew."

"Please state your vitals."

"August 29st 1960, entered Hogwarts and was sorted Gryffindor. Six OWLS, four NEWTS."

"Thank You. Were you involved in the attack on the Potters on October 31, 1981."

"Yes."

"How were you involved?"

"I told of their location to the Dark Lord, and accompanied him to the house. I lent support to the team of Ward Breakers and then activated the port-key that allowed us to escape once the wards fell."

"How did you learn of their location?"

"James asked me to be his secret-keeper, since Sirius would be too obvious, and was already at risk since he was related to suspected Death Eaters and an Auror. He was also a member of the Order of the Phoenix, as was I."

"Can you elaborate what a secret-keeper is?"

"It depends on the strength of the charm. James and Lily were hiding their house from detection on Dumbledore's suggestion. Only people who knew the secret would know how to locate their house. It was a gradual process, since James had business he wanted to take care of. Neither James nor Lily left the house much that summer, but Sirius, Remus and I visited often, bringing news and presents for Harry. Once the charm reached full strength the location was wiped from everybody's mind except for Dumbledore, who cast the charm, and myself, as secret-keeper. If anything was to happen to me, Dumbledore could reveal the house to anybody he deemed appropriate as secret-keeper."

"Are there stronger charms, that you know of?"

"OBJECTION! Heresay!" Public Defender Timmons jumped up.

"Mr. Pettigrew indicated that the strength of the charm was key. I am simply trying to find out more information about the protections given Mr. Pettigrews' involvement in the case."

"Proceed." The lead judge granted permission.

"Please answer, Mr. Pettigrew."

"There may have been, but I was keyed into any additional wards and so they would have been irrelevant anyway."

"Thank you. When did you join He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"June of 1979."

There was a gasp from the gallows, but the courtroom remained silent otherwise.

"The Ward Breakers, were they fellow Death Eaters?"

"No. They were simply strong witches or wizards under _Imperius_. They were Obliviated and set free as soon as we returned to base."

"Why did He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named target the Potters himself?"

"James Potter refused to join his ranks, and there was a Prophecy. I don't know the contents. It simply became my duty to help hunt down the Potters and turn them over to the Dark Lord. It had to do with Harry."

"When were you given this assignment?"

"October of 1980."

"Why did you delay?"

"James and Lily did not key me back into the wards until March of 1981. I was able to visit, but not remember the location of the house afterward. It was a very dangerous time. They still traveled, and James still worked for the Order, so we often met at the safe-house rather than his home. At the time they were still considering moving out of Britain entirely."

"How did you convince them to key you into the wards?"

"I convinced James that I was not the spy giving away Order secrets."

"Were you?"

"Yes."

"Discuss the events that occurred just after that night."

"Once the wards fell I knew that an alarm had gone off informing Albus Dumbledore and Sirius that they fell. I knew that perhaps Albus would not hunt me down immediately, but that Sirius also knew that I was the secret-keeper. He would hunt me down, and he knew my animagus form. I tried to blend in with the crowds celebrating the Dark Lord's demise, but he tracked me down. I did not want to go to jail, so I lured him out into the open and cast an overpowered _Reducto _on the street, dropping a muggle explosive right beforehand. I then cut off my right finger and turned into a rat while there was still smoke for cover. I made it seem like he was the one who fired first. He did, but it was simply a stunner. I waited for the most muggles to be near me, shouting at him, so that I could get as many in one shot as possible. I was aiming for twenty but then he caught up to me and fired his first shot, which I dodged and it hit a window nearby."

"Thank you."

The defense mounted a small case devoid of witnesses and simply pointing to the circumstantial testimony as evidence.

After a short conference the judge came back.

"Peter Pettigrew, your testimony has been taken, and we have reached a verdict. Your conduct and cowardice is shameful and disgusting. You were too cowardly to pick a side and stick to it, and you caused your friends to place faith in you when they should have cast you from their midst.

Therefore, in accordance to law, we find the following:

In Conspiracy to Murder in the person of James Potter, Guilty

In the matter of assisting in the murder of James Potter, Guilty

In Conspiracy to Murder in the person of Lily Potter, Guilty

In the matter of assisting in the murder of Lily Potter, Guilty

In Conspiracy to Attempted Murder in the person of Harry Potter, Guilty

In the matter of assisting in the attempted murder of Harry Potter, Guilty

With regards to twelve counts of murder of non-magical humans, Guilty

In conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child, Guilty

On the count of defrauding a member of a Most Ancient an Noble House, Guilty

On the count of conspiring to falsely imprison a member of a Most Ancient and Noble House, Guilty

On the count of causing documents to be forged by dishonesty or withholding vital information, Guilty

On the count of being an illegal animagus, Guilty

On the count of knowledge of or participation in the casting of an Unforgivable: Guilty.

On the count of first-degree property damage and vandalism: Guilty.

And finally, on the count of being a marked Death Eater without leave: Guilty.

You have enough charges here to sentence you to the Kiss, but because death by removal of your soul would be too merciful, you are henceforth sentenced to Life in Azkaban. You will spend the remainder of your days in a cell guarded by dementors on the highest security block. Your cell will be in one of the uppermost turrets, and your cell shall be fitted with anti-animagus charms. You will not be eligible for parole, you will not be eligible for visitations, and any property you own shall be divided among the estates of Harry Potter and Sirius Black as compensation for your actions in assisting the murderer of James and Lily Potter, then attempting to frame Sirius Black for your crimes. If at any point this body wishes to question you further about the activities leading up to October 31, 1981, this body shall reserve the right to do so as long as you remain alive."

Peter tried to protest, but was stunned and carted away from the courtroom for immediate transfer to Azkaban. A team had spent the better part of the past two days outfitting the cell to specifications, increasing the wards around the cell so that not even a gnat could get in or out without setting off alarms around the whole island.

* * *

Sirius walked around his house, noticing the vast improvements that had occurred since he was here last. Wormtail's trial had been wonderful poetic justice, as somebody had sent along a memory of the whole thing, in addition to a three-page spread in the Daily Prophet. His hearing was set for the following week, and then he would be a free man.

Croaker had informed him that, to avoid any confusion, he had lived here as an agent for the Unspeakables. He was slightly nervous, since his mother was returning today after living with Aunt Dorea for the past twelve years.

"Sirius?" He heard his name called, informing him that his mother had indeed arrived.

"Mother?" Sirius went to the foyer where his mother stood next to bags, which Kreacher then took to her room, which he had spent the better part of the previous day getting ready for his mother's arrival.

"Sirius." Walburga walked up to him and looked him in the eye. "It's good to have you back." She said simply, and walked off to the room where the family tapestry was held.

Curious, Sirius followed her, and watched as his mother stared at the area where she had blasted off several names from the tapestry. She sighed, and he watched a lone tear make progress down her face.

"Return." She said simply, and pointed at Sirius' former spot on the tapestry. A gold thread exited her wand and Sirius watched as his picture returned to the tapestry. He felt a warm sensation flow through his body, and his mother turned her wand onto another blank spot on the tapestry below Andi's name.

"Invite, Return, Restore." She whispered, and a new portrait and name appeared.

Nymphadora Black.

Sirius vaguely remembered a bouncing toddler, Andi's daughter. He looked at his mother, the question in his eyes.

"While you were gone Nymphadora came to the family renouncing her parents and asking to be welcomed into the family. Her request was granted. She dropped her father's name and became a Black. She's living in France now, getting a Mastery in Charms, Transfiguration and Potions, I believe."

Sirius walked over and examined the tapestry. He saw the addition of many new names. Violetta Fitzgerald to Andrew Fitzgerald filled in under Aunt Cassiopeia's name, and underneath Cassiopeia Fitzgerald Black to Orion Aries Black. Underneath those he saw Drusilla Black, Ophelia and Cordelia Black next, and Orion Aries Black II. Underneath Narcissa's name was the name Draco Malfoy, and underneath Bellatrix's name were Tristian Lestrange, and then Titania and Miranda Lestrange.

"Family's been busy since you've been gone." His mother commented.

Sirius looked back and saw his mother standing there, looking better than she had the last time he had seen her. Granted, they had just had a fantastic row and Sirius was in the middle of packing up to leave and live with James, but still.

"I'm glad I got to see you with my own eyes again Sirius. I'm glad you are back here in the house." She then moved and did something she hadn't done since before Sirius went off to Hogwarts and got sorted into Gryffindor.

She gave Sirius a hug. Surprised at first, Sirius hugged her back.

"You must forgive an old lady her indulgence. I know we did not see eye to eye when you were younger, and I certainly made my share of mistakes regarding you, but I have come to learn in my old age that family is the most important thing. I've been told by a reliable source that you finished up your rites when you turned 17."

Sirius nodded. He had not done the darker rites of his family, but James' parents still maintained the older traditions, and insisted that both of them take final rites. He had not celebrated any of the holidays since, but that was to be expected, since there had been such a division that last year at Hogwarts, and then all hell had broken loose soon after graduation.

Walburga continued. "You disappointed me, Sirius. Not because you did not join the Dark Lord, but because you threw everything we ever taught you in our faces the night you left. We didn't get mad when you were sorted Gryffindor, but to act like you were too good for this family…"

Sirius looked at his mother. "Death Eaters, Mother. I could not stand around while they tortured innocents! All that dark magic… It was wrong then and it still is!"

Walburga shook her head. "You don't understand. You never did. It's not about the 'dark magic' as you call it. It's about family loyalty… People have married into this family from supposed 'light' families, and you have at least three great aunts who married into 'light' families. But they stayed loyal to the family. They stayed firm with tradition."

Walburga paused. "I don't know when you became so afraid of magic. Or so disbelieving of our customs. At any rate, I hope that for your sake and Harry's you actually do the research we set you when you were a child, finding out WHY we insist on keeping customs and ignoring the laws of MAN when it comes to magic. After all, the laws of man will come and go, but Magic has always been and always will be. It would do you good when you cease to be blinded by the ramblings of an old half-blood. "

Sirius looked at his mother as if she had two heads. "Half-blood?"

Walburga sneered at her eldest son. "You mean you didn't know that Dumbledore is a half-blood? An old one, but a half-blood none the less. You forget that Madam Bagshot is an old family friend, and went to school three years under Albus, in the same year as his brother Aberforth."

Sirius shook his head. "That doesn't matter! He's still a very powerful wizard! It just proves you lot wrong with your theories of blood bigotry!"

Walburga continued to sneer. "Albus Dumbledore is over a hundred years old, and was an apprentice to Nicholas Flamel. He simply has more practice with magic than most wizards alive. But enough of that and back to you, Sirius. Cassiopeia and Orion have proven that they intend on raising Harry properly, in true Black family tradition. I doubt that you would be allowed anywhere near him, godfather or not, unless you prove yourself worthy in the eyes of the family."

Sirius scowled. "James and Lily would NEVER have agreed to it! They would be rolling over in their graves if they knew Harry was growing up a dark wizard!"

Walburga frowned at that. "Indeed, or so you think. You know James as your friend, and Lily as his wife. Did you even see the paperwork they sent to Cassi before they died with the instructions they gave on how to raise him?" At Sirius' blank look she nodded.

"They left instructions that Harry be taught all 'age appropriate material' the family deemed acceptable, and grow up able to form his own conclusions about right and wrong. Not a single mention of 'dark magic' in the whole document! Harry was to be raised just as they raised their own children. James Potter knew what he was getting into by allowing the House of Black custody of Harry. He knew that they were traditionalists. James even left Harry his Family Lineage book, and used blood magic to seal Harry's inheritance trunks."

Sirius paled.

His mother moved in for the kill. "I advise you to find out what, and who it is you really stand for, Sirius. Because wasn't Dumbledore just as ready to fight for your freedom the night you got arrested? He visited you at the Ministry and assured you that the 'misunderstanding' as to your role in the Pettigrew's death would be cleared up, and that he would make sure you got all the rights accorded to you, didn't he? After all, he did as much for that Snape boy you used to always complain about."

Sirius looked down. He couldn't look his mother in the eye.

"Ursula was in the Ministry the night you got arrested, Sirius, trying to find out what happened to Harry. She heard the order go down restricting your floo access and the order that would have had you immediately transferred to Azkaban. Then you vanished, and a taboo was put on your name, making everybody forget you existed. She heard the other Aurors laughing when Albus Dumbledore refused to answer your floo calls. THAT is the man you followed so blindly into battle, forsaking the family that would have supported you with the best legal representation money could by to fight those charges, Sirius. That is who you turned to in your hour of need, only to be denied."

Sirius sighed. He wanted to fight, to protest, but if Ursula knew that Dumbledore had refused his floo calls, then the whole family knew, and he could not pretend it was an 'honest mistake' and that Dumbledore was just too busy for him.

Walburga smirked. "Did you know that Albus was IN the Ministry that night? He was there when you were brought into custody. He had to have been aware that you were being held. He could have stopped by your cell to talk to you in person. But he didn't. And now the trial of Peter Pettigrew is over. He has yet to try and reach out to you, to find out how you're doing, how Pettigrew's courtroom confessions are affecting you and all that stuff that a _mentor _does for his charge."

That caused Sirius to be even more miserable. Albus had abandoned him, and stood up for Snivelus Snape in open court.

"But how will studying the dark Rites and such help me now, Mother? I was never interested in them like Bellatrix or Narcissa."

"You are fighting what you are Sirius. Fighting your very blood and the magic within your body in this vain attempt to defy me. Do yourself a favor, Sirius. Remember that you are no longer a rebellious teenager fighting against his parents. Learn what your magic really is all about."

Sirius was speechless. He spent most of his life fighting becoming anything like his family. But what did he really know about Dumbledore, either? His mother seemed to think that he wasn't cut out to be a 'light' wizard. And the words of that mysterious woman still echoed in his head. At the very least, he didn't have anything else to do, since it was advised that he stay indoors until after the trial.

Walburga saw the continued battle in her son's demeanor. "Open your mind, Sirius. Not everything is as black and white as you might have learned in Gryffindor. It can't be. Magic would not allow such an abomination to exist. Even now she protests the perversion of her gift. Can you no longer hear her song? Can you no longer feel the ambient magic flowing around you? Has your time with Dumbledore blinded you to the magic around you?"

Sirius paused. "Faintly."

Walburga smiled a slightly crazed smile. "She sings for her lost soul, Sirius. She sings for the New Era, the restoration of balance to her purpose! She sings for you."

Sirius closed his eyes and attempted to 'feel' the magic around him as he had been taught as a young child. He opened his eyes when he couldn't. The house was full of magic, that much he knew, and he remembered the comforting whisper of magic from his youth, but silence was his reward now. Sirius looked down.

"I can't hear her anymore, Mother."

"You will. You will remember the face of your fathers. I would like to rest now. Have Kreacher summon me for dinner, I will take luncheon and tea in my rooms."

"Yes, Mother." Sirius spared another look at his mother and went off to the Black Library, leaving his mother in the drawing room.

After the door closed behind Sirius Walburga looked into an empty corner of the room. "My performance was adequate, I assume?"

The corner shimmered, revealing Crow.

Crow nodded. "You planted the seed. Our department has placed top priority on the proper training of Harry Potter, and your son could undo all of our years of work with a few careless words. It is imperative that events proceed as intended. My associate indicates that the mists tell her that we have much more work to do to avoid the Doomsday scenario. I trust you can keep your involvement to yourself, Madam Black?"

Walburga nodded. "Regulus is safe, I assume?"

Crow nodded. "He is. He will continue to remain hidden, but circumstances might allow a visit with him once his current assignment is complete. You cannot tell anyone that he is alive."

Walburga waved a hand to the family tapestry, revealing that it reflected Regulus' death date. "I have complied so far, I have no reason to go back on my word now. "

Crow nodded again. "When he came to us he was near death, but his continued survival is imperative to our current purpose. Besides, he provided a wealth of information gathered prior to his 'disappearance'."

Walburga sighed. "He was working for you, even back then?"

Crow raised an eyebrow. "Is that surprising, Madam Black? He was marked rather young. Our department needed a reliable source of information, and he provided it to us. Just as Obsidian provided information about Dumbledore's group once he was permitted entry. We may primarily work in research, but we are much more than that." Crow suddenly looked quite serious. "When you permitted our use of your house, you were told certain things, correct?"

Walburga nodded. "The balance of Magic was off, and your Seer predicted that certain events led to the eventual destruction of our kind. She can see into different worlds, and knew that we would not survive if the path remained unaltered. She indicated that certain sacrifices must be made, but that our descendants would have a future, and that our way of life would be preserved. That was enough for me." Walburga looked off to where Sirius had gone.

Crow waited, but when it looked like Madam Black was finished speaking, he spoke.

"We are not Dark, nor are we Light. We are the guardians of Magic, and as such we must protect it at all cost. I have my role, Regulus has his role, and Sirius has his role. We all have roles to play, but Harry Potter is the key. Through the mist our Seer has told us that in other worlds, we did not do enough to utilize Harry Potter until it was too late. We have intervened early enough, but vigilance is needed to ensure that he does not fall."

"Neutral. He must remain neutral?"

Crow shook his head. "I am not saying that. In fact, it is likely that the opposite is true. But he must remain balanced. He must remain in touch with Magic. In other worlds he was cut off from Magic's true purpose for him, becoming a shadow of who he could have been. He survived in some worlds, died in others, but it is not his survival, nor the survival of any children that he may have that is at issue. In other worlds he represented either the epitome of Light magic, or the ultimate Dark Lord. He can be neither."

Walburga sighed. "He is being raised by my family, immersed in Dark rituals, despising muggles and mudbloods."

Crow nodded. "But he knows family, a true family, and not a perversion. He knows love, he knows priority, he knows duty. Some may be sacrificed. But as Sirius' sanity was important to our mission, so is Harry's upbringing in a stable home with adults he can trust. In order to save him from either fate, he must be a complete wizard. Only then will he be able to lead us into the New Age."

Walburga thought about the dark haired boy with emerald eyes. "Is he really that powerful? That important?"

Crow simply replied. "Yes. Darkness and Light battled over him. They will do so again. He is a true Child of Magic. They are rare, but they have come before. But now the stars have aligned. The time is at hand."

Walburga looked at Crow.

* * *

"Tell your fellows good luck, and may Merlin guide them."

"Until next time, Madam Black."

Walburga watched as Crow left, vanishing on the spot. Her own time was short, but that elderly blonde woman who had appeared on her doorstep when she was pregnant with Sirius had made her purpose clear.

"_You will bear a son, who will betray everything you stand for. But he will gain knowledge that will become invaluable. When the time comes, welcome him with open arms. He will leave, and return. He will straddle the line between your world and that of the Light. Certain things must happen, and they will break your heart. But the stars are aligning, Walburga Black, and your son shines bright among them."_

* * *

Time is like a pond. The smallest drop can cause the biggest wave. Keeping Helena Potter alive long enough for Arcturus Black to include Lily and James Potter in the Black Family dealings was such a drop. It changed not only the life of Harry Potter, but also the lives of everybody he was destined to interact with. Planting a suggestion in the mind of Lucius Malfoy was another drop, ensuring the stability of many families that would have otherwise died out.

Shining Star reflected on all that had been done in the name of Magic. She looked up at the heavens, reading them much like the Bane and the other Centaurs did. A downpour was coming, and after Magic cleansed herself, the New Age would dawn.

* * *

A/N. Hope you enjoyed. Our friends will return in the next chapter, I promise. Plus, with Peter's confessions, what will happen to Dumbledore?

A/N (2) - If there are major mistakes, PM me about them and I will fix them. I wanted to get this posted, and so I might have missed a few things. Later Days!


	22. Finding Links

After two years and a very elusive muse, I am doing this. You are not imagining this... I have updated this story. As it has been such a long time I am including a brief update, but know that I have edited most of the other chapters for continuity. Tracey is no longer related to Roger (not a big deal, but something I wasn't comfortable with), Titania now has her name spelled correctly across all chapters, and I've edited a few other things to that this chapter makes sense. There are still a few changes to be made (fixing Snape's code name) but overall I'm happy with everything, and the main theme of the story has not changed.

I also fixed a conversation about Harry and Neville.

A quick recap:

Harry is a Ravenclaw, now in the summer before his third year. Last year saw him rescue the basilisk that lives in Hogwarts, making a way for her to hunt and live out her days serving Harry. Ginny Weasley has begun a heritage reversion, where she plans on taking on the family of her great grandmother. To avoid a claim by either of her parents later, she decided to enhance the Yaxley parts of her heritage while purging as much of the Weasley influence as possible. She has been successful in the initial stages, and now uses a glamour to cover up the fact that she is no longer fully a Weasley. Her changes have not gone unnoticed, and plans are afoot to take advantage of the young woman's desertion. Since she is renouncing her blood traitor family, she can claim herself as a Yaxley heir with all the rights entitled. In exchange for assistance with the rituals, she helped the Dark Lord gain strength by using Lockhart's blood and framing the same man for her own 'kidnapping'. She plans on continuing her rituals in the coming year.

Hermione was withdrawn from school after being attacked by a troll on Halloween, but is not happy at her new school either. She likes learning about magic, but she is only one of three muggleborns in the entire school. However, she enjoys the variety of subjects she is exposed to and hopes to one day be known for her intelligence and not just her blood status.

Sirius Black is finally free, and released from his time as an Unspeakable. The rest of the Unspeakables are not remaining idle, however, and continue to work behind the scenes. There is still fear of a catastrophic event that will doom wizards worldwide, although the details about what will happen are vague.

Harry has gotten closer to his mother's birth family, but still has unanswered questions about them and his parents, particularly why they chose to fight the Dark Lord. Harry does not believe it matters, since the Dark Lord is long dead and the only person obsessed with him is his barmy Headmaster. He is unaware of the other events in the Chamber, believing what everyone else does, that Ginny was kidnapped by a pedophile teacher.

* * *

Harry watched idly as his friends and cousins continued to play broom tag. Being naturally good on a broom, he was excellent at the game but found that his cousins had decided to team up against him. Mira and Samantha had managed to get tagged as 'it' and flanked him, forcing him down a gambit where Sabrina was waiting. It didn't help that Blaise and Theo spent the entire time laughing that he got chased down by a bunch of girls. Now he was waiting his penalty out before he could rejoin the fun, but in all honesty he didn't really care.

His summer had been filled with fun and learning. He spent the first half with his Nan, who finally explained what happened to her and his mum's father. He could tell that the whole incident still made her feel terrible, and that was part of the reason she was so invested in him. Lily never lived the life she was meant to live as the daughter of two respected purebloods, and his Nan was still hurt that the man who caused the situation to begin with couldn't even be bothered to place his own daughter at St. Mungos where she would be adopted by a magical family. From what Aunt Cassi had told him, he nearly suffered the same fate. He was determined to trace down the other side of his mother's family, if only to see if any of them were still alive.

He continued to study with his private tutors over the break, making sure to do all of his homework early and be ahead of his classmates when it came down to Runes and Artihmancy. He was looking forward to the new school year and the natural separation that would occur between the common Hogwarts students and those who were destined to be the future leaders of Britain.

For now, however, he had more pressing matters to occupy his mind. He would be meeting his original godfather, Sirius.

In all honesty, Harry did not have much to go on with regards to his father's closest friend. He knew the basic facts: Sirius was accused of joining up with the Dark Lord and betraying James Potter by telling the aforementioned Dark Lord where the young family was hiding. He was also accused of later murdering Peter Pettigrew and several muggles by blowing up the street where he found Pettigrew. Being a runaway as he was, the Black patriarch could have left him to his own devices, but subtly decided to investigate the matter instead. After all, even the dullest among the Black clan knew with certainty that Sirius would never betray James Potter. And just because he ran away from Walburga Black it did not mean that other relatives had stopped considering young Sirius family.

Unfortunately for Sirius, every effort that was made into discovering his whereabouts following his arrest was met with uncommon resistance. His cousin Ursula was a solicitor, and even she could not find out where in processing Sirius was. It seemed that from his very arrest somebody was trying to make sure Sirius was not questioned by anybody, not allowed to give testimony or a statement for the record, and that they were trying to expedite his transfer to Azkaban. From there he would be assumed as already having been convicted, since orders for transfer were never issued until the final conviction. The Ministry holding cells were quite safe in most regards, and could have been used indefinitely until any trial. So it was a rather great stroke of providence that the Unspeakables took an interest in what was going on and intervened.

Nobody outside of the family knew that Sirius had worked for the Unspeakables for a number of years, and only his mother and a couple of others knew details about that work. Needless to say the Unspeakables made it look as though Sirius had been transferred to one of the lower jails under the Ministry and left to the kindness of house elves while awaiting a trial that never came.

Now the man was officially free, and there was the threat of a very large scandal hanging over the Ministry because of their official stance on Sirius Black compared to the facts available. His arrest was a matter of public record, as was the fact that he had never been questioned or received a trial. Even those who knew the truth could pretend to be upset and incensed at the implication that the heir of such an important house could be abused should the Ministry decide to do so.

But Harry was not thinking about these things, although he knew all of them as a family member and the man's godson. He was thinking about what Aunt Cassi had told him about the man's obsession with following Dumbledore, his clear disdain for tradition and his peculiarities regarding muggles. Harry personally had no use for Dumbledore beyond that of a distant headmaster who need be kept at arm's length, and he loved tradition and loathed most muggle contraptions. He found the airplane useful as a means of travel when it wasn't packed full of muggles, but he preferred the magical way of accomplishing most other tasks. Besides that, for years his father was this distant figure, somebody he knew through letters and notes hidden in the things he had inherited from the man, but never was he faced with a flesh and blood indication of the type of man his father had been.

Harry only hoped not to be disappointed.

"Hey! Harry!"

Harry looked up from his musing to find Miranda flying towards him.

"Hey!" Miranda landed elegantly next to him and smiled.

"Hi Mira, what's up? Game over already?" Harry asked.

The dark-haired Lestrange nodded. "Yeah. There's apparently a new boutique opening in town so Mother and Auntie are taking the girls to get some new robes and such, especially since your cousins have never been clothes shopping in Italy."

Harry nodded, now noticing that Sabrina and Samantha were walking back towards the house, and Theo was standing off to the side while Blaise talked with Draco, who had apparently just arrived.

"Ah. So you're abandoning me for shopping."

"Of course I am. You are quite charming, but a girl has to have priorities. Theo was saying he may have to go back to his house, and Blaise is planning to go off with Draco somewhere."

Harry shrugged. "Have fun. I'll see what exactly Theo is up to."

Miranda shrugged and turned, running to catch up with the twins and her own sister. He could see Dru further up the hill talking to his aunts. Turning to Theo he walked up to the brown-haired boy and smiled.

"Who won?"

"Sabrina and Samantha. They teamed up with Miranda to get Blaise and me out, and then turned on Miranda. Decided to share the victory."

Harry nodded. That sounded like them. "So, what do you plan on doing now?"

"Father wanted me to come home to help with some business matters. Sorting the new stock, I suppose."

Harry nodded. Theo's father owned a publishing and binding company that dealt primarily with publishing first-time authors and binding books for limited release. However, it also had a side component of finding and publishing material of a more questionable nature. For every 'new' author he published publically, he probably published twelve more books of a darker and likely illegal nature. Nott's father also scoured estate sales and had created a lifelong mission to rescue ancient magical texts from the prying eyes of the Ministry. It was work that the Nott family had been doing for decades, ever since the Ministry started its war against so-called 'dark' magic. Thus the Nott home was better protected than most Ministry buildings. This meant that if Theo was going home, Harry would not be joining.

"So you're going to abandon me to the wolves?" Harry flicked his head towards Blaise and Draco, who were further up the hill and just out of earshot.

Theo shrugged. "You could always hang out with them."

Harry looked at his friend and the blonde. "I'd rather read. As much as I like Blaise, he's not enough of a buffer by himself for me to willingly spend time with Draco."

Theo shrugged again. "Suit yourself. Later, Harry."

Harry watched for a moment as Theo walked towards where his father had just appeared at the apparition point, and then turned up the hill, giving a polite nod to Blaise and Draco before keeping true to his word and finding something interesting to read.

* * *

Harry was back in England for his meeting with Sirius. Drusilla had returned with him, as had his great-Aunt Violetta. Aunt Cassi had gone to Nice with her grandmother, and Uncle Ori was still on the island with little Ori. Harry was officially back since he had his birthday to be ready for, plus he wanted to visit Neville for a few days.

Future plans aside, Harry tried to hide his nervousness by reading a rather thick book about dark magic, dark lords and the shrinking amount of spells available to the everyday user. The irony of the book was that it was written in the mid to late 1800s, before the last two dark lords were even relevant. Harry thought it said a lot about the nature of witches and wizards that some of the points made by the author were still relevant. The book had been a gift from his former Governess for good grades the previous term.

Even though he was quite beyond the days of sitting underneath the tutelage of his Governess she still maintained contact with him, as she did with most of her promising pupils. She often supplied him with books on history, culture and spellwork. Some of the books were quite rare, and one claimed to have been written by a descendant of the Slytherin family. It referenced a Grimore that could only be unlocked and used by a person who spoke Parseltongue. The strangest thing about the reference was how it was referenced; as a book that the man had used to aid his spellcrafting, and not as a 'lost book of his family'. That meant the book was either now lost forever, or hiding and waiting for another person capable of unlocking it and using it. Harry didn't know what to make of that, but he certainly would look into it when he was older. If it existed, the tome would be fascinating to study as a part of his Mastery in Spellcrafting or Ancient Magics.

Harry sighed deeply and put the book down. He wasn't concentrating well enough to read anything in English, much less French, and still yet an older variant of the language that contained a lot of archaic words and bastardized words that were still partially Latin. He had gone over the same paragraph four times and none of it had registered. He heard the clock in the main hall sound the hour, and hoped his godfather had the decency to arrive on time.

Just then a pop sounded, and Mittens appeared. "Lord Sirius Black to see the Heir Potter."

Harry blinked at the house elf once, and then gave himself a once over, casting a quick refreshing charm on his robe in case it had gotten rumpled in his study. "He may enter."

The doors opened, and Harry stood up, bowing slightly to his elder. The man could not be disclaimed by the Blacks even if he tried really hard. He was every inch a Black. Tall, with an exceptionally pale complexion, the hair on his head fell in dark waves down to his shoulders. Grey eyes, with the barest bit of hardly detectable blue, and high cheekbones completed the look. Lord Black was wearing dark maroon robes, with light grey slacks and gold detailing. Harry suddenly got the feeling the man had started off the day wearing blazing Gryffindor Red, but had decided to tone down the look for the first meeting with his Ravenclaw godson.

He entered and stood in the center of the room for a brief moment, taking in Harry before speaking.

"Lord Sirius Orion Black, Lord of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, Regent of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Fairchild." Sirius spoke.

Harry bowed again. "Heir Harry James Potter, Heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Potter, Heir to the House of Fells."

Sirius stuck his hand out. "Well Met."

Harry shook his hand. Sirius had opted for one of the more formal introductions Harry had seen. He probably expected Harry to be offended otherwise. This would be interesting. "Please, sit."

Sirius sat down on the divan across from where Harry had been sitting. Harry sat down and the two looked at each other for a moment before Sirius smiled.

"Well, you certainly look enough like James so that nobody would be able to claim you aren't a Potter. Did you get your trunks?"

Harry nodded. "I got one just before starting at Hogwarts, and Aunt Cassi says there's another one when I come of age to claim my title."

Sirius nodded, smiling. "Great, great. I have a third, one that you should have gotten when you turned 8, but you're not too old for it yet." Sirius extracted the object from his robes and placed it on the floor in front of him, tapping it once to expand it again.

Harry looked with curiosity as the trunk glowed with a bright red 8 hovering over the lock for a moment before going dark. He looked back up and Sirius was looking at him with an odd expression.

"You're so serious." He said finally.

Being nearly 13, Harry couldn't resist the joke. "I thought that was your name." he deadpanned.

Sirius laughed out loud, and Harry eventually smiled at his own joke. "Great, you do have a sense of humor. Although now I get why you're a Ravenclaw."

Harry shrugged. "Hat thought it was the best choice. I don't rush into situations without thinking first, and I enjoy knowledge for the sake of knowledge, and not the power it can bring me."

Sirius nodded. "So not the ambitious type?"

Harry shook his head. "Didn't say that. I have ambitions, goals, aspirations… just not enough to override my love of learning, apparently."

Sirius could see that. There was a discarded French tome by Harry's elbow, and from what he remembered the boy enjoyed studying history and ancient magic.

"So what do you do for fun?"

* * *

Three hours later Harry was sitting alone in his suite, which was just fanciful talk about the small sitting room he had added to his bedroom. It was mainly a couple of soft chairs and a junior desk made of oak, with two low walls to contain his growing personal book collection. The low walls served to separate the study from his main bedroom, while giving him a place to lounge that was semi-private.

He had talked to Sirius about Quidditch, getting first-hand stories about his father's days as a Chaser, and telling the other man about his own prowess as a Seeker. Then the talk switched to what his father had been like at Hogwarts. Apparently they had been quite the jokesters, kind of like the twins, Fred and George Weasley. They played mostly harmless pranks on other students, and each had their own talents. His father had been good at Transfiguration and Defense, which was something he had noted from the books his father left him. His mother was good at Charms and Potions, the first of which Sirius shared with her. Remus Lupin, a man Harry had not yet met, was talented at Charms as well as Arithmancy. Nothing was said of the fourth member of their little entourage, except his name which was spoken with no amount of hidden vitriol. Sirius was the warder of the group, talented at Runes and Spellcrafting as well. He hoped to pick Sirius' brain about warding and Spellcrafting, since neither were taught at Hogwarts, and it was not every day a person got the opportunity to learn about wards from an Auror.

Despite talking for nearly three hours, Harry still had little to go on as far as why his father chose the side he did. Sirius didn't say anything, except he hinted that he was under orders not to influence Harry one way or the other.

'He did what was right for him, Harry. You have to decide what's right for yourself. Nobody else can tell you that.' Sirius had said, the most he would say about the subject of _why _his father fought alongside Dumbledore and against the traditional values of his youth. Perhaps if he asked the right questions he could get whomever had issued the order to rescind it. For Sirius' part, he stated that he followed James to Dumbledore because he didn't like the person his parents were trying to make him become. He had been equally vague about who that person was and if anything had changed his mind, simply saying that 'things were different now' and 'time would tell'.

Harry sighed. All this was giving him a headache. He could go through the latest trunk, but he didn't really feel like digging deeper into his parent's past today. Sirius' visit had given him more questions than answers, other than the fact that his father managed to balance having fun with getting good grades. So Harry scanned his bookshelf for something to read.

_The Last Great Generation: A Recent History As Told By One Who Lived It. _

Harry remembered putting that book on his bookshelf, it was after all filed correctly in the 'History' section of his small library, but he had no idea what the book was about. Curious, he went over and picked it up, opening it to the preface.

'_This summer I returned from my world tour, and it seems as though the whole world has gone crazy. For the first time in my memory the Wizengamot took up the issue of familial spells and wards as 'dark magic'. The Most Ancient and Noble houses are under attack. Even minor houses like the Bulstrodes and the Bones', because familial wards were usually the only things protecting ancestral homes from unwanted visitors and politically motivated ministry 'raids'. _

_Father told of such a raid on the Malfoy home, a fortnight before my return, orchestrated by Billius Weasley. It is easy to see now why talk of his clan being blood traitors gets stronger with each generation. Great-grandfather talked of the days in his youth when a Weasley could be counted on just as well as any Black to defend against the muggle barbarians. But that was the days before Gaius Weasley took the flower of Hester Malfoy, causing her to break her betrothal contract and turning them both to squibs. That feud has run hot ever since, and even though it was a rather dark spell that took Gaius' magic the family was in the right to protect the girl from exactly that thing. Perhaps demanding he marry her and pay the bride price was a bit much, but the family deserved some recompense. _

_Now a days, instead of trying to end the feud they grow it worse and cause others to see them as traitors to their own kind, setting raids and promoting the rights of barbarians. It would be no surprise if they had used the imperius to get that pro-muggle legislation passed and certain types of curse objects banned. There would be no need for bans if families would teach the children the way we used to. _

Harry skimmed the ensuing section, more babble about various families growing weak, of blood traitors and the like, until something caught his eye two pages later.

_I recently had the pleasure of being invited to luncheon to meet a family friend, Gellert Grindelwald. Only a few years older than I am, he is well traveled and knows quite a bit about England and Hogwarts thanks to a past association with Albus Dumbledore. Not being familiar with Dumbledore other than knowing him to have been Head Boy, I was unable to comment on that. However, Gellert had some brilliant ideas about the direction the governments should go in protecting the rights of pureblooded citizens from muggles… _

Harry nearly dropped the book in shock. This was a personal accounting of somebody who joined Grindelwald in the early-1920s, since it mentioned Phineas Nigellus as the current Headmaster of Hogwarts. How the author knew Grindelwald was still a mystery, as was the identity of the author, at the moment.

Harry scanned through the book, slightly startled when slim piece of fine parchment tumbled out of it.

"_William, _

_I know you're having a bit of trouble with James, so I thought Father's diary would be helpful. It seems he does not fully comprehend that our family's history has not been tied to Dumbledore as the man likes to say. Despite his fondness for you as a Gryffindor he seems to forget what house I ended up in. I fear that with your soft heart you have spoiled him and now he is consorting with muggleborns and all sorts of filth. Rumor has that he has even turned Wallburga's boy against his own kind, and I know exactly wherein the blame lies. Have we gotten so afraid of our own government that we dare not teach the truth in our own homes? I know she keeps a firm hand, but that both the boys would be swayed from their birthright so quickly shows trouble._

_From your letters you seem at the end of your rope when it comes to the "Headmaster's" ways. It is truly a shame how far we have fallen that our own children are swayed by a filthy half-blood, but ever since he murdered Herr Grindelwald the man's legend seems to grow. Not that it matters much, but I deeply suspect he is behind the decline of many of our compatriots' families. He would have an entire school of mudbloods were he given free rein to do so, and would have us all groveling at the feet of those barbarians. _

_Not that this other fellow who claims to have Slytherin blood is any better, since he will not declare which of the Ancient and Noble Houses he hails from. I suppose Father was right in his declaration that his was the last of the great generation of purebloods, living free from the taint of the barbarian horde. Unfortunately wizards like Father were hunted down, or are forced to hide their true beliefs thanks to the weak-spines of the Ministry and their kowtowing to the muggles. Unless we are aligned with someone powerful enough, that halfblood Dumbledore will turn this whole generation against us. There was another raid just this week past, a son turning against his own father! _

_In other tidings, Abraxas was by for tea this week. You know he has a son not that much older than James, about six years older, if I am not mistaken. The young Malfoy has expressed too much interest in that Dark Lord fellow for his comfort. Although I strongly suspect that there was a touch of admiration in Brax's voice regarding this young man, there is too much left unknown about the fellow to suggest that we stand under his banner. I do have my doubts… I fear that between Dumbledore and this so-fashioned Dark Lord, we might be the last generation to stand untied against the mudblood horde. _

_Enough of that talk. Rea and I will be by for the Equinox as promised. She still mourns the loss of our son, and nothing I can do will comfort her. Rea seems much older now than her 50 years suggest. Perhaps it pains her that even though Lena is older, she was able to successfully raise James. My own illness is taking its toll on me, making me wonder who could have caused it. I suspect a delayed curse on the whole lot of us, brother. Before our generation, wizards lived far into their nineties and beyond, and now suddenly we can barely make it past fifty without dying or some ill-fated accident occurring. Those of Rea's cousins who took up the banner died before their prime, while others remain, including the blood traitor Cedrella, may magic curse her traitor seed. I hope that is not the case, because I fear that without our guidance our world and way of life will be destroyed. _

_Do not suffer your current condition long, brother. You must carry our banner. I fear James will be too easily swayed by the blood traitors to stand against what we believe, but I also know that you are weak and tired, and cannot teach him as you would have in your prime. _

_Yours, _

_Charlus Potter_

_Feb. '74_

Harry sat the letter down on his desk. It was written to his grandfather! He had guessed that his grandfather had been much more neutral than his father, judging by the spells his father had learned before attending Hogwarts, but that his great-uncle and great-grandfather supported Grindelwald?

From what Harry knew of his family history, which was an impressive amount considering nobody was around to teach it and he had no access to his own lineage book, his grandmother and grandfather had both died prior to his birth. He also knew about his great-aunt and great-uncle, also tied to the Black family, who died before his grandparents did, while his father was still at Hogwarts. He had no indication of what his grandparents' political beliefs were, except that his grandmother Lena was best friends with Great Aunt Cassiopeia and that neither associated with muggleborns.

So according to this letter, his family had been close to the Blacks and Malfoys before the Dark Lord took power, and that Dumbledore convinced his father to stand against his grandfather's former allies. From what he could gather, his father had not known much about great-grandfather's beliefs.

'Or he disagreed with them' a voice whispered to Harry. He chose to ignore that voice.

Instead, Harry decided to read about his grandfather and Grindelwald.

* * *

Meanwhile, an old wizard sat across from a younger wizard who had aged before his time. Blue eyes focused on amber as the older wizard awaited his answer.

"I can't accept your offer, Headmaster. There is just too much at stake." The man sighed.

"Are you sure, Remus? It would be a chance to get to see Harry again. I know you haven't been in contact with him at all, nor Sirius, since James and Lily were killed."

Remus merely nodded, leaving the man to his assumptions. He was not a student at Hogwarts, nor was he a teacher yet. He did not have to correct any assumptions the Headmaster made. It was his mail, he could contact whomever he wished. "That does not mean that I would willingly spy on him. I'm sure that James and Lily chose good guardians for Harry, Headmaster. They were both extremely smart, and would not have been fooled by sweet words and empty promises."

Albus shook his head. "But he's being raised by the Blacks! He associates with Malfoys and Lestranges! Surely James and Lily never wanted that for him!"

Remus had no response to that. He wasn't sure who he thought Harry would associate with, being raised by anybody that closely related to SIrius.

"But I saw in the paper that Harry and Neville Longbottom had a joint birthday celebration last year, and have one planned for this year as well. Surely he is a good friend for young Harry to have."

The twinkle in the man's eye died for a bit. "They're corrupting young Neville too. forcing him to associate with the monsters that drove his parents insane. I fear for Neville as well."

Remus didn't buy it. If Augusta Longbottom knew where her grandson and the Longbottom heir was, then the Headmaster need not worry about it. He dare not say as much to the Headmaster. But he could not pretend that what the Headmaster was trying to do to Harry was ok.

"Cassiopeia Black and her husband Orion are practically Americans. They didn't go to Hogwarts, and had nothing to do with You-Know-Who. There is no reason to assume that they are raising him the way that the others were raised."

Dumbledore shook his head. "You don't understand, my boy. The threat of Voldemort still exists, and Harry is in danger by associating with the children of known Death Eaters."

Remus bristled. "SO is that what you think, Headmaster? Whatever happened to second chances? Sirius' parents were as dark as they came, but he fought faithfully for you until the end. In fact, he was still faithful to you, since he wasn't the one giving out information about the Order, like you accused me of doing. You accused both of us, and never gave Peter a second thought, did you?"

"All I could go on was the information I had at the time. Peter seemed least likely to be the one to turn against James and the rest of us." Dumbledore replied.

"Oh, because of my condition and because of Sirius' family? Forget that despite the fact that James was my best friend and that he and Sirius saw each other as brothers! I guess that's why you kept sending me away on 'missions' to talk to other werewolves to prevent them from joining You-Know-Who instead of telling me why my best friend had to go into hiding to begin with. Now, even after they have died you won't tell me anything other than there is a 'prophecy' about Harry and You-Know-Who. Something that can't even be active anymore since he's gone." Remus replied.

The aged headmaster simply shook his head. "He is not truly gone."

Remus frowned. "If he is truly still an active threat then my watching Harry does no good. We would be focusing on the wrong individual, unless you somehow think that Harry is involved with You-Know-Who. Which would be another matter entirely. Do you believe that Harry would willingly side with the man who murdered his parents?"

"I do not believe he has an appreciation for the sacrifice his parents made for him." Dumbledore shook his head.

"That is not my job. I can tell him what his parents were like, but I cannot give him that when he has guardians and a family entrusted by ancient magic to do it. Who he associates with, what his political leanings are, how deeply involved he is in pureblood politics, all of those things are the responsibility of his guardians. What I can do and will agree to is to look after him the way I would any other pupil I am teaching, and be available to him to talk to should he not be able to contact his regular mentors. The same opportunity I would give any other student who felt they could confide in me. Unless you would like a report on every student I encounter at Hogwarts…"

"Remus be reasonable! I am simply asking for a bit of insight into Harry's interactions within his peer group. Information on how he views the others around him… his topics of conversation…"

Remus stood up. "I am being reasonable. You won't tell me why you need that information; I don't think you need it, so you won't get it from me. If that is the only reason you want to hire me, and not my various certifications and practical knowledge relating to Defense Against the Dark Arts, then we have no more to say. I'm sure that Cassiopeia Black would be more than willing to accommodate you no questions asked. James left me enough to live reasonably comfortable on, plus my investments in muggle books have been profitable. I was doing this as a favor, Headmaster. I will not spy on Harry for you. Not based on the fact that_ maybe_ he is a little prejudiced against muggleborns, and _perhaps _he is being raised as most of the other pureblood children he goes to school with, and _maybe _he is friends with children whose parents are your political opponents. All of the dangerous Death Eaters were put in jail. Unless You-Know-Who is alive there is no more continued threat to Harry's existence than to Draco Malfoy's. Harry survived an un-survivable curse. Unless you have something worth sharing, I will be on my way."

Dumbledore started to open his mouth, and Remus stopped him. "But do mind, if you are going to tell me something that you have not told Harry's guardians about why James and Lily were targeted, or that the reason they were targeted is still a threat to Harry, then I would be honor-bound to tell them, and will not stand in the way when the Blacks fall upon your head. Don't put me in that position."

Dumbledore closed his mouth and shook his head. "Your stubbornness may put us all at risk."

Remus' eyes flashed amber for a moment. "You are a much more powerful wizard than anybody alive. Currently Harry is living a normal, unthreatened life. If you know of a threat to that and do not act on it, I will hold you personally responsible for whatever happens. If You-Know-Who is still alive and you are not gathering the old guard to tear the rug from underneath him, especially at such a time when we could be acting without fear of retaliation, and instead you choose to do nothing, you are just as bad as he is, as the Ministry was when the houses of muggleborn children burned, when his lieutenants attacked the Bones' and the Longbottoms…"

Remus continued. "And if you are putting stock in some prophecy that involves Harry… Especially if you have reason to believe that You-Know-Who did something to prevent his own death, and instead of finding out how to cut that threat out before it returns you are sitting here with me playing 'I Spy' with Harry as the object… If I find out that is the truth, I would lose all respect for you. If things are as dire as you claim, then spying on Harry's personal life is the least of your concerns. You should tell his guardians, because that is why he has them to begin with, and come up with a solution."

Dumbledore sighed deeply. "I cannot involve his guardians. They are too far gone. They are Dark, Remus."

Remus walked towards the door. "I am considered a Dark Creature by many, Headmaster. That does not mean that I am incapable of fighting for what is right. If you cannot involve Harry's guardians, discuss your concerns fully and succinctly with the parents James and Lily chose for Harry, you cannot involve me. I will not help you. I was quite willing to teach here at Hogwarts. Looking forward to it, in fact. I am not without offers, Headmaster. I think I will pursue one of my other offers. Good Day."

Remus turned and walked out of the door, acting much more Gryffindor than his insides felt. He had never been more glad for his Were than just now. He could practically feel the compulsions crawling across his brain, but between the Wolf and a handy necklace charmed to protect him from attacks none of them stuck.

'Or else I would find myself doing exactly what the Headmaster wanted me to do, regardless how I felt about it.' Remus thought to himself as he walked back out of the castle and to Hogsmeade Village. He had sent Sirius a letter letting him know of the impending interview. Sirius had suggested the necklace, and would be meeting him at The Three Broomsticks for old times. Sirius had been hoping that Remus would get the job, but had been wary of the Headmaster for reasons he would not commit to paper. The only hint Remus could get was that it involved the time between James' death and his banishment to the bowels of the Ministry.

Arriving, Remus immediately set off to where he could see Sirius talking with a petite little blonde with bright blue eyes and a smile for miles.

"Oi! Sirius!"

Sirius looked up and beamed.

"Remus! It's been ages. Remus, this is Diana, Diana, this is my best mate, Remus."

Diana smiled. "Nice to meet you. I've got to go, Sirius, but it was a pleasure meeting you. You know where to find me."

Sirius beamed at the woman as she flounced away. Remus looked back at Sirius and was saddened to see how much he had aged.

"I'm sorry, Sirius. I'm so sorry. I should have known… should have said something… done something…"

Sirius waved it off. "Don't worry about it. If Grandfather's solicitors could not do anything about my predicament, there was little you could have done. The past is the past, now. I'm no worse for wear. You keep apologizing like I got sent to Azkaban."

Remus sighed. "A lot of people thought you had been."

Sirius smirked. "A beautiful man like me? Azkaban? Please. So you, how did the interview go?"

* * *

Harry laughed as he dodged a charmed water ball thrown by Blaise. Two weeks before the new school year, and it was a fun day back on the island with his friends. After reading about how back in his great-grandfather's time all pureblood families stood united against muggle influences, he concluded that not only did he have to work overtime to undo the damage his father had done by siding with Dumbledore, but he needed to extend his great-grandfather's reach. To that end he started repairing the bridge that youthful disagreements had nearly burned between himself and Draco.

The boy's white blonde hair could be seen, briefly, flashing to his right as Theo lobbed a water ball at him. Draco had been unsure at first, wary even, when Harry extended the invitation to spend the rest of the summer hols after his birthday with his family rather than going to Italy with his parents. A flash to his left indicated Neville's position, and Harry went for it.

"AUGH!" A voice screamed, and Harry turned to see that he had gotten Draco instead. Neville was behind him grinning and soon Harry was soaked too. It had taken a lot of convincing of both Neville and Lady Longbottom to get him to spend the rest of the holidays with him, but Harry had a feeling the Gryffindor boy needed good friends like he had. Besides, just because he thought his father was a fool for siding with Dumbledore and his pro-muggle agenda, he did not feel the same about his father's friendship with Frank Longbottom. The Longbottoms were a proper, old family known for bravery, but not stupidity.

Harry sensed somebody behind him, and shifted while making another water ball with his wand. Harry jumped behind just as Biaise shot a ball at him, and he threw the ball at another flash which turned out to be Theo.

"Gah! Potter! That was freezing!"

Harry grinned wickedly. He had taught himself how to make the balls colder and was pleased when he was finally able to do it without the ball turning into ice.

Harry quickly dashed back behind the trees to create another ball, all the while training his eyes around the small thicket. He had almost gotten everybody, while only Neville and Theo had managed to catch him. He still needed to tag Blaise and Neville in order to win the round. A sound to his left indicated that somebody else had gotten Draco, while he felt ice water suddenly running down his back, and the sound of feminine laughter tinkled behind him.

Harry whirled around to face Titania, who was smiling triumphantly while creating another water ball. He was sure Miranda was nearby as well, which meant that Daphne was somewhere in the thicket as well, maybe even Tracey.

'Great.' He thought. 'That set him back, but he was still winning, although he did need to change the fact that Titania was bone dry.'

A scream to his left sounded distinctly feminine, and he heard Miranda promise sweet revenge on Blaise. A similar scream to his right and he saw a flash of Neville before he vanished behind a tree, revealing that he had been the first to get Titania. She went chasing after him, and Harry went in search of his prey: Neville.

Hours later the group sat around a large picnic blanket on the beach, devouring sandwiches and drinking pumpkin fizzies, a new drink out on the market. Everybody was talking about plans for the new year, and Harry was thankful to have such a good group of people to call his friends.

* * *

A/N. *woohoo!*


End file.
